


The Maybe Non-Eventful Life of Percy Weasley

by MalSpinningYarns



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, Coming Out, Discussion of Homophobia, Discussion of Mental Health, I have little knowledge of the UK school system so just go with it, Multi, Social Media, There is some mention of George being in a car accident but no graphic detail
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-05
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2020-06-09 18:59:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 57,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19482022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MalSpinningYarns/pseuds/MalSpinningYarns
Summary: Percy Weasley was living a normal life in London, well as normal a life you can have when your younger brothers are famous YouTubers and you have four other siblings, until his old school mate and now-famous rugby star Oliver Wood came out as gay.  And Oliver wants to reconnect.  Now Percy's being dragged into a world he know nothing about and his siblings certainly aren't helping.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I originally got this story idea about a year ago, but I never committed to it. I'm hoping by posting this first chapter, I'm more motivated on working on the story. And to see if anyone is even interested in this idea. So if you like this first chapter, let me know!
> 
> As always, I do not own these characters. This work hasn't been beta'd or Brit pick'd, so all mistakes are my own.

It started with a text message from Ginny.

After a long day of preparing an exhibit, Percy had checked his mobile on his way home. He never looked it at during work if he could help it. Percy considered his phone a massive distraction. As much as he loathed admitting it, he was as addicted to Twitter and the games on his phone as much as anyone else. When he felt the telltale buzz of an incoming text coming from his left pocket during his final hour of the day, he promised himself to look at it only when his shift was done.

At the bus stop, Percy looked at his lock screen. The text was from an hour ago. It read:

**Ginny:** _HAVE YOU LOOKED AT TWITTER?!!!_

Suddenly, a second text popped up from another one of his siblings.

**Ron:** _I’m sure someone has already beaten me to the punch (probably Gin), BUT LOOK AT UR FUCKING TWITTER!_

Then a third quickly popped up.

**Fred:** _OMFG. HAVE YOU SEEN IT YET?! IM DYING IM DEAD_

**Fred:** _I hope you haven’t deleted your social media apps because you are going to want to look NOW._

Percy furrowed his brow at all these texts. If there was an actual emergency, he would have gotten a phone call or a long winded text from his mother in the entire Weasley group text (like when George got hit by a drunk driver a little more than a month ago). What on earth could be happening that three of his siblings felt the need to text _him_ about? Especially these three?

In a momentary distraction, the bus arrived, forcing Percy to get out his Oyster Card quickly or face of glares of his fellow commuters.

Finally sitting safely on the top of the double decker, Percy opened up his Twitter app. Once he went to the trending UK topics section, he immediately saw what his siblings were texting him about. The top moment of the day read: “Pro rugby player Oliver Wood comes out as gay”.

Percy’s stomach dropped.

He was proud of Oliver- really fucking proud- but thousands of thoughts were running through his head. See, he knew Oliver Wood. Like the rest of his family, Percy attended a boarding school called Hogwarts for his secondary education. Oliver was not only in the same year as him, but he was also his roommate and one of his closest friends during school. Oliver was one of the few people that actually understood Percy. They were both obsessive, driven people that had a secret soft side that hid a lot of insecurities. They lost contact after they graduated for the regular reasons: they were too focused on their own goals. Percy entered academia and Oliver became a professional rugby player.

The problem was Percy had a massive crush on Oliver during school.

Well, not the entirety of school. It was really only the last few years. Oliver never knew of his crush, but Percy did tell him that he was gay right before Christmas holiday of their final year. Oliver had been nothing but supportive of him when he came out. Percy had thought he had gotten over Oliver, but this news was really throwing him for a loop.

He opened the topic. Apparently, Oliver was going to be on the cover of one of the UK’s gay magazines, which was the one running the story. Percy mentally noted to himself to pick up a copy when it came out. The cover photo was gorgeous. Oliver was smiling a genuine, relaxed smile that Percy remembered loving seeing. He was sitting in front of a Pride flag while wearing a simple white shirt and jeans. His brown hair looked stylishly tussled. It was unlike a lot of the other professional photos Percy had seen of Oliver over the years. In those, he looked serious with determination in his eyes. The magazine cover reminded Percy of the Oliver he saw in their shared room in the occasions when they were just hanging out. He liked it.

One of the first tweets was from Oliver’s own account. It had a photo of the magazine cover attached and read: “I have been holding in this secret WAY too long #LoveIsLove”. Percy made sure to follow Oliver.

There were a lot of supportive tweets. Some thirst tweets. There were some homophobic tweets that made Percy’s blood boil. And, of course, there were the sophomoric tweets making the same jokes about Oliver’s name that Percy had heard since he was 11. Wood as a last name was just too easy of a joke.

Percy had some ideas why he hadn’t heard from his other brothers yet, but knew they would want to know or would want to talk about it when they found out. Bill was probably still at work, preparing for his upcoming archeological dig in France this summer. Charlie definitely was finishing up his shift at the zoo, but Percy figured he’d see him soon at the flat they rented together. George was still recovering from his car accident injuries, which included major hearing loss in his left ear, a concussion, two broken ribs, and a broken leg, so his phone use was limited. But if Fred knew, George likely knew. They all were aware of Percy’s adolescent crush on Oliver thanks to a Christmas where Percy got a little too drunk on hot coco spiked with peppermint schnapps and blurted it out during a conversation about rugby. It wasn’t his finest moment.

Naturally, Percy was nervous about what his siblings were going to say. Not about the gay thing- they had all accepted his sexuality when he came out years ago- but about Percy’s old crush. He figured they would either joke about it or sincerely try to hook them up. He wasn’t sure what was the worse option.

Percy decided that the best way to do this was to rip the plaster off as quickly as possible: he decided to text Ginny first. He told her he just saw and waited. Within minutes, his phone buzzed.

**Ginny:** _What are you thinking? Did you have any idea? Are you going to try to talk to him?_

Percy stared at his mobile. He wasn’t sure how to answer. Was he surprised? A bit. It was less about Oliver’s sexuality than the fact that Oliver was possibly jeopardizing his career by coming out. In hindsight, a lot of the suspicions Percy previously had had about Oliver’s sexuality in school were confirmed. Oliver _never_ dated in school. Never. Girls would ask him to escort them to Hogsmeade on the weekend or watch a movie with him or be their study partners and Oliver would either make excuses or invite other people- especially Percy- to join. He had even complained to Percy once about it. He and Percy never talked about girls they thought were hot or whatever young, straight boys were supposed to talk about, even that year Percy had dated a girl named Penny (Turns out she was also gay). When Percy came out to Oliver- the first person he came out to- sobbing over his fear of telling his family, Oliver had hugged him tightly and teared up too.

**Percy:** _I don’t know? Honestly, in hindsight, I’m not entirely surprised he is gay. I mean, you could say the same about me. The signs were there. I am surprised he came out in the height of his career though. It’s risky and he was obsessed about playing pro rugby for years. I would like to talk to him again, I guess, but I have no idea how to get a hold of him. I did just follow him on Twitter, but I’m sure he gets messages all the time. And we’re both so different now._

A few moments later, he got a response.

**Ginny:** _Who knows, maybe he’ll slide into your DMs and you’ll have a hot athletic boyfriend._

She included that one gif of Rihanna winking. Percy rolled his eyes. Then, he responded to Ron’s message. Ron’s reaction was “I didn’t bloody expect that” and “maybe you can get yourself a boyfriend who isn’t a massive shithead” with a winky emoji. Percy would have been mad at Ron if he weren’t right. All three of his exes were terrible: Liam was an entitled, rich prat, Patrick loved starting drama with anyone and everyone, and Roger had cheated on him. Twice.

Before Percy even had a chance to respond to Fred, he got a message from him.

**Fred:** _Hello? Are you ignoring me?!_

**Percy:** _No. I was in at work and didn’t check my messages until I got to the bus stop. Then both Ginny and Ron beat you to the punch, as I assume you’re referring to Oliver._

Percy’s relationship with the twins was complicated. Growing up, they didn’t exactly get along. He thought Fred and George got into trouble too much and worried about them either hurting themselves or others. The fact they constantly made fun of him a lot didn’t help matters either. They thought Percy was a stick in the mud. Things were better now- not perfect- but better. Their personalities were still wildly different, but there was now at least an understanding.

Being bisexual, Fred was the only one of Percy’s siblings that he could easily talk about guys with, especially in regards to sex. And despite Ginny technically being an adult now, Percy never, ever wanted to discuss sex with her because she was still his little sister. Too bad she was very frank.

Unlike Percy, Fred was actually in a relationship. He was happily dating his old school friend, Lee Jordan. Even Percy could admit they suited each other well and made a good couple. If anyone would actually try to get Percy and Oliver together (other than Ginny and maybe George), it would be Fred. He still regularly joked about Percy’s drunken crush admission, but honestly seemed supportive of it. The twins had been good friends with Oliver at school.

**Fred:** _No, I’m referring the royal baby._

**Fred:** _Of course I’m referring to Wood!_

**Fred:** _Damn youngsters beating me to the punch. Need to get off their bloody phones._

**Percy:** _1) You are 23._

_2) Your job is literally making YouTube videos_

**Fred:** _Touché_

**Fred:** _Did you know? Like, did he ever tell you?_

**Percy:** _No, he never told me. Like I told Ginny, in hindsight, I’m not entirely surprised he is gay. He never dated even when there were dozens of girls with crushes on him. I was shocked when I read it though. I think because I wasn’t expecting it? And it’s fairly crazy for him to come out in the height of his career. Your thoughts?_

**Fred:** _A bit surprised, but I wasn’t paying that close attention to his personal life in school. I wasn’t even sure he had a life beyond sports._

**Fred:** _He’s fit though, isn’t he? If you don’t snap him up first, do you think he’d be interested in a 3some with me and Lee?_

Percy was certain he was turning the color of his hair.

**Fred:** _Just kidding!_

**Fred:** _Or am I? ;)_

Percy typed a message to George.

**Percy:** _If you are near your twin, can you please smack him for me? But don’t hurt yourself. He’s being a creep._

**George:** _Done_

Another text popped up:

**Fred:** _Did you just weaponize my own, injured twin against me?!_

**Fred:** _I’m so proud of you._

**Percy:** _I did nothing of the sort. Now stop talking to me, I’m about to switch from a bus to the tube._

Percy wasn’t lying about the Underground switch, but if it meant having Fred leave him alone for 30 minutes, he would have. At least his day ended before the rush hour truly started. While there weren’t many available seats, there was plenty of standing room. After finally reaching the surface after a couple of train switches, Percy finally got a text from Charlie. It was only ten minutes old.

**Charlie:** _You on your way home?_

Percy typed out a quick reply.

**Percy:** _Yes, just left our tube stop. You?_

**Charlie:** _Just got off a few minutes ago. I’m on my way to the Underground. Want me to bring home takeaway?_

**Percy:** _Indian?_

**Charlie:** _Sure._ _The usual?_

**Percy:** _Yes._

The walk to Percy and Charlie’s shared flat wasn’t far from the tube stop. Once in their building, Percy stopped by their mailbox- it was primarily spam- before heading to the actual flat itself. It was a decent flat for two brothers living in outer London by themselves. They each had a bedroom and shared all other living spaces. The appliances weren’t the newest, but everything worked and it was clean. Given that they grew up in a family of seven siblings and two parents in a farmhouse in Devon and attended a boarding school on scholarship where they each shared a room with at least one other boy, somewhat cramped rooms weren’t much of a problem.

Charlie’s cat Xena greeted Percy with a large meow when he entered the apartment. He scratched her ears and poured her some dinner. She scurried to her dish.

Percy fidgeted at the kitchen table as he waited for Charlie to get home. He considered texting Bill to get his thoughts, but figured he was still working. He also considered texting one or both of his parents, but decided that was a disaster waiting to happen. His mum would have too many questions that Percy wasn’t ready to answer. He was surprised his mother hadn’t called him by this point. Fred and George were currently living in Devon with their parents because Molly insisted on helping George recover. Either Fred or George hadn’t told Molly about Oliver, she thought Percy was fine, or she thought Percy was too busy to call at the moment.

He decided to play one of the word games on his mobile.

Percy was so engrossed by his game that he didn’t notice Charlie come in until he placed the takeaway on the table.

“Hey,” Charlie greeted his younger brother as went to check on his cat. She was meowing pitifully.

“I’ve already fed her,” Percy said.

Charlie scratched under Xena’s chin. “Sneaky girl,” he laughed.

“How was work?” Percy asked.

Charlie groaned as he sat down.

“That bad?” Percy dug through the takeaway bag to sort out the food and utensils.

“Just a bunch of school groups with the end of the term coming up and the nicer weather. I have a headache from some of them yelling when they see the birds. It just takes a lot of energy to keep up with them and keep the birds from freaking out, ya know? And you? How was your day?”

“Today was the big moving day for the new part of the Victoria exhibit at Kensington-it’s some jewelry and a few tiaras- so I had to make sure nothing bad happened to the collection during travel. Thank God nothing did. The five of us there for transport were holding our breath and had the crown jeweler on call just in case. Emeralds are extremely breakable, you know. I can breathe now.”

“Five of you? Did you even work on the jewelry? I thought you were working on clothes or tapestries or something?” Charlie asked as he scooped a piece of naan through his curry.

“First of all, I’m working on monitoring tapestries for damage, but yes, there were five conservators. There was plenty more in terms of security and curators. I didn’t work on the jewels, but as a newer conservator I tend to get grabbed to do things to see how they are done. It was nice to get out of the basement in Hampton though.”

“You need some sun,” Charlie noted. It was easy for him to say, he was an outdoorsy person. Percy had never been one of those.

They ate in silence for a moment. After a few minutes, Percy decided to take the plunge. “Did you hear the news about Oliver Wood?” he asked.

Charlie looked up. “The Harlequins aren’t planning on trading him, are they? That would be mad. He’s one of their best players!” Clearly no one had bothered to tell Charlie anything. Not to mention that Charlie rarely checked social media. If it wasn’t related to animals or occasionally sport, he didn’t really pay attention. He didn’t have a smart phone for years until everyone else practically forced him. Percy didn’t understand why Charlie lived in London instead of some middle-of-nowhere animal reserve where he’d probably be much happier.

“No,” Percy said, “He came out. As gay.”

“Oh,” Charlie said surprised but not unkindly, “Good for him!”

“Is that it?” Percy asked.

“What more is there to say?” Charlie asked. “I mean, I guess I assumed he was more like me and didn’t care about sex, but I graduated before the two of you really hit puberty and started dating. But I’m still happy for him.”

“Oh. Well, everyone else is kind of suggesting that I should date him,” Percy said.

“Define ‘everyone else’,” Charlie said.

“Ginny. Ron. Fred.”

“Yeah, well, they tend to stick their noses in places they don’t belong. Don’t listen to them. Unless you’re still into him?”

Percy sighed. “I thought I was over him? Like it’s been years since I thought about him in that regard. But with this news coming out, so many feelings came flooding back to me and I don’t know.”

“Are you going to try talking to him? Just as friends at least?”

“I think I’ll try. The hard part will actually be getting in contact with him. I don’t think he has a Facebook page and I rarely check mine these days. I’m not sure if he has turned off DMs on Twitter, but it seems likely. If he hasn’t, I’m sure he gets enough messages that he wouldn’t even notice mine.”

“You’re already making excuses, Percy. The least you can do is try,” Charlie said, sounding very mum-like.

“All right, all right,” Percy said while grabbing his mobile, “I’ll even do it now.”

Opening up Twitter, Percy saw he had dozens of notifications. It wasn’t entirely uncommon. Occasionally, one of the twins would mention him in a tweet- especially if he got dragged into doing a video with them- and it would get retweets, likes, and responses. He was curious what Fred or George tweeted about him now.

It wasn’t Fred or George tweeting about him, but he wished it was.

Instead of Fred making jokes at his expense, the tweet was by one of Percy’s oldest friends. And Percy felt betrayed.

**Felicity Simons** @BoldFelicity

In honour of @OliverWoodOfficial coming out of the closet, here is a pic of him, me, and @PercyWeasley as George Michael, Whitney Houston, and Elton John at a fancy dress party circa 2011. How were none of us out?

Attached was said photo of Oliver as George Michael in the “Faith” video, Felicity as Whitney Houston in the “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” video, and Percy as Elton John in the “I’m Still Standing” video at the Halloween party during their final year at Hogwarts. While it was a cute photo, it was kind of embarrassing. They were so earnest with their costumes. Their costumes weren’t jokes; they were genuinely celebrating these artists back when it wouldn’t have been cool to do so. It had been a labor of love gathering their thrift store finds and reinventing them to look like the actual outfits.

Felicity Simons had gone to Hogwarts with Oliver and him. She was in their year and lived in the same dormitory, Gryffindor House. While Oliver obsessed over sports and Percy obsessed over schoolwork and history, Felicity was obsessed with music. She was easily one of the best singers in the Hogwarts choir and knew more music theory and history than anyone Percy had every met. They actually spent a lot of time together. The three of them made the weirdest trio. At first glance, they didn’t share much in common. Sure they were all good, well-behaved students who led various activities, but that didn’t make them similar. Under the surface, however, they had a lot in common. They shared a genuine love of 70s and 80s pop. Despite not playing any sport, both Percy and Felicity enjoyed watching them. They had been some of Oliver’s loudest cheerleaders at games. And now with Oliver coming out, they all officially were gay. Percy had come out to Oliver a few months after that photo had been taken, right before Christmas holiday. The next day, on the train ride home, he told Felicity and her best friend Audrey. He had come out to his family over Christmas and word spread quickly once the school term began. Felicity came out as a lesbian about halfway through the final term.

Percy still kept in contact with Felicity, mainly because she was still around. During school, she befriended Lee Jordan and in the past year they started a podcast where they talked about music and pop culture through a Black, LGBTQ lens.

“You look like you just bit into a lemon,” Charlie said.

“Felicity posted a photo of us on Twitter,” Percy said.

“It can’t be that bad,” Charlie replied.

Percy showed Charlie his phone. Charlie smiled. “I think it’s cute,” he said. Percy groaned.

Percy looked through the replies and retweets. Most of them were variations of “OMG” and “LOL”. Then, he noticed Oliver replied.

**Oliver Wood** @OliverWoodOfficial

Replying to @BoldFelicity @PercyWeasley

I’m still mad that we couldn’t convince @PercyWeasley to dress as Bowie.

Percy’s fingers itched to reply back. He gave into the temptation.

**Percy Weasley** @PercyWeasley

Replying to @OliverWoodOfficial @BoldFelicity

We said 80s pop stars. Ziggy Stardust would not fit the agreed theme. Serious Moonlight Era Bowie is not that different from Still Standing Era Elton. And I wanted to wear my glasses.

Percy put his mobile down and sulkily ate his chicken tikka masala. He listened as Charlie told a story about keeping some child from feeding a falcon some chips when he thought Charlie wasn’t looking.

Percy checked his phone again. There were more notifications on Twitter. A number of them were nobodies making comments on his response. One was a response from Felicity.

**Felicity Simons** @BoldFelicity

Replying to @OliverWoodOfficial @PercyWeasley

Ollie, in what world would we have found something properly Ziggy Stardust in a second-hand shop in rural Scotland? #useyourbrain

Oliver’s response was pretty much immediately after that.

**Oliver Wood** @OliverWoodOfficial

Replying to @BoldFelicity @PercyWeasley

Fair point. I’m just mad we lost Best Group Costume to the Spice Girls. Penny isn’t even a brunette! I highlighted my hair! We went the extra mile!

They had lost the costume contest to the Spice Girls. The group consisted of a number of the female prefects from Ravenclaw House and Hufflepuff House, including Percy’s ex-girlfriend Penny as Sporty Spice and Felicity’s now-girlfriend Audrey as Posh Spice. The three of them were so upset when they lost. Oliver had indeed highlighted his hair to be properly like George Michael in the 80s. Actually, Felicity had done it with a kit bought at the drug store because she didn’t trust Oliver or Percy to do it themselves. Honestly, she made a fair point. Percy was sure that there was some photo at his parent’s house where Oliver was wearing some cap with holes in it that Felicity had used.

Percy sent his own response.

**Percy Weasley** @PercyWeasley

Replying to @OliverWoodOfficial @BoldFelicity

I think we went a bit too old school for our classmates to get it at the time. By the way, @BoldFelicity how were you not Scary Spice? I thought they asked you?

Felicity replied within seconds.

**Felicity Simons** @BoldFelicity 

Replying to @PercyWeasley @OliverWoodOfficial

Four words: I hate cheetah print.

Percy chuckled and looked back in his notifications. He gasped at what he saw.

“What?” Charlie asked.

“Oliver followed me on Twitter!” Percy exclaimed and showed his brother the proof.

Charlie said, “See, he’s already 5 steps ahead of you.”

Percy noticed he had a direct message. It was either going to be Oliver, Felicity, or some random person that he followed. As he hadn’t opted in for plain anyone to message him on Twitter- having professional YouTubers as brothers nipped that one in the bud pretty quick- those could really be the only options. However, Felicity would normally text him. He had a few “Twitter friends” from the museum and historical preservation community, but it seemed unlikely one of them would message him.

He clicked on the message icon. It was Oliver.

**Oliver Wood**

@OliverWoodOfficial

_Hey, Perce! I know this day is kind of mad with Felicity posting that pic and all and you might not even see this, but I wanted to see if you wanted to like hang out or just chat sometime? I miss talking to you. My number is different from when we were in school. It’s -------------- if you want to text me or call me sometime?_

“Oh my goodness!” Percy exclaimed, “Oliver Wood just gave me his phone number! He wants to hang out sometime.”

“Well, shit, he moves fast,” Charlie said.

“What should I do?!” Percy stood up from the table and started pacing around the kitchen.

“Um, give him your number? Text him back?”

“When? Now? A few hours from now? Three days?”

Charlie groaned, “Look, Perce, I don’t have much experience in this realm. If you want actual good dating advice, get ahold of Ginny. All I can suggest is that you look at this from the perspective of an old school friend getting back in contact with you. Not that one of the biggest rugby stars wants your dick or something.”

Percy stopped in his tracks. “Do you think he wants my dick?” While Percy wasn’t opposed to the idea, Oliver never seemed like the type for a one-night stand. And Percy would want more than one night.

Charlie was clearly getting more frustrated and uncomfortable. “I don’t know! I can’t read his mind from across London. I assume he just wants to hang out with you again. You roomed together for seven years, remember? He was one of your closest friends in school. He probably doesn’t know many other gay blokes and I assume he’s probably feeling very overwhelmed right now.”

Percy sighed and flopped back into his kitchen chair. “You’re absolutely right. Maybe I’m not over him entirely, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be a good friend to him. Thanks Charlie.”

“I feel like I’ve missed a step here,” Charlie said, confused, “But if it helps you, great. And who knows, he might just be into you.”

Percy hoped maybe his brother was right.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am astonished and very flattered by the response that I've gotten so far! Thank you all so much for your response! I really hope this story lives up to your expectations. 
> 
> I apologize for the almost month-long absence. I'm pretty busy at this moment and I don't have most of this story written out in advance. 
> 
> Writing a lot of texting-heavy stuff on an actual computer is kind of terrible, so if I mess up my own formatting, I am so sorry.
> 
> As always, this has not been Beta'd or Brit-picked, so any mistakes are my own. I do not own these characters.

Percy decided not to text Oliver immediately. At the very least, he was going to finish eating his dinner first. Charlie threatened often enough that one day he’d take Percy’s phone away during dinner if he didn’t quit looking at it. Percy feared one of these days he’d actually do it. While Percy may have several inches on Charlie, Charlie weighed a lot more. Charlie could certainly wrestle Percy’s mobile away if he wanted to.

After dinner, Percy went to the living room to watch the news on the BBC. Charlie joined him. A couple minutes into the program, Percy noticed a text in the Weasley siblings group text.

**Bill:** _Did anyone see this? Thoughts?_

Attached was one of the stories on Oliver.

**Ginny:** _Jeez Bill, you’re WAY behind._

**Fred:** _This story is so three hours ago._

**Ron:** _How do you feel knowing something after Mum, Dad AND Charlie?_

**Bill:** _Wait, Charlie knows already?!_

Percy heard Charlie snort from across the living room.

**Charlie:** _Yeah, Percy told me not too long ago._

**Charlie:** _Wait, Ronnie. How do you know I know?_

**Ron:** _Figured Perce would have told you._

**Charlie:** _Makes sense._

**Bill:** _Sorry I have an actual job that doesn’t let me look at my phone all hours of the day. We all can’t be Professional Internet Prats._

**Fred:** _George says he’s going to add that to his Twitter bio._

**Ron:** _What, that Wood is gay?_

**Fred:** _No, you wanker. “We all can’t be Professional Internet Prats”. You got dropped on the head, I swear._

**Ron:** _Hey!_

**Ron:** _That would be good for a Twitter bio tho._

**Ginny: 😒**

**Bill:** _Perce, how are you handling this?_

Percy froze. What should he say?

**Fred:** _I’ve already told Mum that you’ve talked to him on Twitter. Your welcome._

**Percy:** _It’s you’re welcome_

**Bill:** _You’ve ALREADY tweeted at him?!_

**Ginny:** _Please keep up Billy-Boy._

**Ron:** _Yeah, nerd._

**Bill:** _It’s near the end of term. I’m teaching. I’m preparing for a dig. I’m busy. Jesus._

**Percy:** _Felicity tweeted a photo of the three of us in fancy dress._

**Fred:** _Excuses, excuses._

**Charlie:** _Wood messaged Perce and gave him his number._

“ _Thanks_ Charlie,” Percy called out to the brother sitting not too far away, “for dropping that bomb.” The normal chaos of their group messages was about to get a lot worse.

**Bill:** _WHAT?!!!_

**Ron:**

**[via GIPHY](https://giphy.com/gifs/okay-14fnBD3MQslIGc) **

**Ginny:** _YOu have to lead with this info._

**George:** _Fred’s jumping around btw_

**Percy:** _When have I gotten time to mention it? All you guys do is talk._

**Fred:**

**[via GIPHY](https://giphy.com/gifs/marvel-cinematic-universe-mcu-pietro-maximoff-yr7n0u3qzO9nG) **

**Percy:** _It’s not that big of a deal._

**Ginny:** _It’s not that big a deal?! He’s only one of the best rugby players in the UK. Recently came out as gay. And GAVE you HIS NUMBER?!_

**Ron:** _Can I get an autograph?_

**Ginny:** _Ugh. Ron. Shut up._

**Percy:** _He just wants to talk or hang out._

**Percy:** _I don’t think he has many gay friends._

**Bill:** _Are you sure, Perce?_

**Fred:** _I hate to be the voice of reason, but Percy might be right. Speaking from experience, being a public figure in the closet is hard. And this hasn’t been a rumor AT ALL, so he’s either really good at keeping things quiet or he flat out has very little or no relationships with any other queer people._

This was the most sensitive thing Percy had ever seen or heard Fred say. He was honestly kind of shocked. Even when George had been injured, Fred still made jokes. But even then, Percy figured it was more of a coping mechanism.

**Ron:** _Wow_

**Ron:** _You do have a heart. And a brain._

**Fred:** _Don’t tell anyone. I have a reputation to uphold._

**Fred:** _I still think Wood is into Perce. For some reason. But he’s testing the waters._

**Ginny:** _I agree w/ Freddy._

**Percy:** _What makes you think that?_

**Fred:** _I have eyes? **🙄**_

**Bill:** _And he’s back. Nice to see you be human for the second it lasted._

**Percy:** _Can I have an actual example?_

**Ginny:** _The Bowie comment on Twitter? He wanted to see you in some skin tight clothes obviously._

Percy raised his eyebrows. Did he really?

**Ron:** _Texted him yet?_

**Percy:** _No, I’m texting you lot._

**Charlie:** _He doesn’t know how soon is too soon. He doesn’t want to appear too eager._

**Percy:** _Thanks, Charlie.😒_

“I am sitting over here, you know,” Charlie said.

Percy looked up from his phone. “I wanted that on the record.”

**Ginny:** _I think given the circumstances, talking to him today would be OK._

**Ginny:** _Also those wait 3 days rules are pretty archaic at this point._

**Bill:** _Agreed_

**Ron:** _I’m just going to agree with Gin and Bill because they have the best dating track record._

**Charlie:** _Does Bill really? Cause I remember his track record in school…_

**Charlie:** _Nevermind, remembered the rest of you lot. **😜**_

**Ron:** _Would YOU trust Fred or George with dating advice? I learned the hard way._

**George:** _Fred and I are both in relationships right now._

**Bill:** _Hey, shouldn’t you be resting right now?_

**George:** _First time touching mobile all day. Fred told me about Wood._

**Fred:** _Text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him text him_

**Ron:** _Bloody hell!_

**Bill:** _Jesus Fred_

**Ginny:** _How did none of that get autocorrected?_

**Percy:** _If I talk to him, will you guys leave me alone?_

**Fred:** _I think you know the answer to that._

Percy decided to give up on his family and finally text Oliver. He entered the number into his contacts and opened it in Messages. He paused for a moment and considered the best introduction to write. Eventually he decided to go simple.

**Percy:** _Hey Ollie! This is Percy._

**Percy:** _Weasley_

Percy felt his stomach flutter as the three dots indicating typing immediately popped up.

**Oliver:** _Hey Perce! I’m glad that you got back to me so quickly! :)_

**Percy:** _Are you seriously using emoticons?_

**Oliver:** _You don’t strike me as a defender of emojis._

Percy chuckled. Charlie looked up at him questioningly. Percy lifted up his phone silently to signify he was texting someone. Nodding in recognition, Charlie turned back to the telly.

**Percy:** _Gin made fun of me for using emoticons until I switched. I use emojis sparingly._

Percy paused for a moment, then decided to send:

**Percy:** _This may seem weird, but I feel like we should have some sort of assurance that we are who we say we are. To make sure neither of us are being hacked or tricked. Does that make sense?_

**Oliver:** _The twins have really done a number on you, haven’t they?_

**Oliver:** _Just kidding. I completely understand. I’ve been pretty paranoid the past few years because, well, you know. Are you at home?_

**Percy:** _Yes_

**Oliver:** _How about you take a selfie with a Shakespeare play of your choice?_

**Percy:** _No photo with today’s newspaper?_

**Oliver:** _Like anyone gets the printed newspaper anymore. Unless you do? I was trying to think of something you probably had on hand._

**Percy:** _I was joking. Probably should have used an emoji or an emoticon or something. I subscribe to a few newspapers online though._

**Percy:** _Hold on_

Percy got up off the sofa and went to his bedroom. When Percy and Charlie first moved into this flat, they tried having all their books in the shared living room. However, it quickly became apparent that Percy’s personal collection was going to ruin that plan. In Percy’s defense, he was a historian with a master’s degree in museum studies and a good number of his books were not easy finds, so it wasn’t like he could get rid of them. Most of Percy’s collection had been banished to his bedroom while the few decorative art books and general interest books he had could stay on the shared shelf.

Percy surveyed his options. He had the Arden Complete Works, but it was too large and too heavy. Romantic tragedies like _Romeo and Juliet_ , _Antony and Cleopatra_ , and _Othello_ seemed like a bad idea. _Hamlet_ was too obvious. A comedy like _Twelfth Night_ or _As You Like It_ didn’t seem like a bad idea, but he also didn’t want to project “Please date me”. Maybe he was reading too much into this, as it seemed unlikely that Oliver would have read or seen the entirety of Shakespeare’s canon, but Percy had and he would know. Ultimately, he blindly grabbed a copy of _Richard II._

He looked around his bedroom for the best source of lighting for his photo. The window didn’t face the setting sun, so he settled for his desk lamp. He took a couple of selfies at his desk with the book and picked the one he looked the least crazed in and sent it.

His phone pinged pretty quickly as he put the play back in its spot.

**Oliver:** _Cute! That’s definitely you, Perce._

Percy’s heart stopped beating for a second.

**Oliver:** _Requests for me?_

Percy had to shake away some of the more vulgar thoughts that immediately popped into his head.

**Percy:** _Are you at home?_

**Oliver:** _I legit have not left my flat since the announcement_

**Percy:** _Not even for practice?_

**Oliver:** _My season literally ended on Saturday. We aren’t in the playoffs. Just bloody missed it._

**Percy:** _Sorry. I’ve been busy at work this past week and haven’t been paying attention to any sport._

**Oliver:** _You’re fine. :)_

**Oliver:** _Instructions?_

**Percy:** _Apologies. Um, a selfie with any book of your choice?_

**Percy:** _You do own books, right? **😏**_

**Oliver:** _Piss off_

**Oliver:** _Wait a moment_

While Percy waited for Oliver, he checked the sibling group chat. Surprisingly, it was still silent. Percy tried not to think about that too much.

Within a few minutes, Oliver’s photo showed up. It was definitely Oliver with his chocolatey brown hair and hazel eyes and strong jawline. In it, Oliver was smiling and giving the camera the two-fingered salute while standing in front of a rather large bookshelf. Percy laughed over the ridiculousness of it all. It brought him back to being thirteen and letting Oliver be one of the few people Percy genuinely allowed himself to be silly around. He knew it was similar for Oliver. They either put too much pressure on themselves or had outside influences putting the pressure on them. Percy knew Oliver’s father put a lot of pressure on him to be basically perfect. Oliver had to get good grades so he didn’t lose his scholarship to Hogwarts. It was also expected for him to do well in his sport. Mr. Wood had apparently lost his chance to go pro at rugby and his son wasn’t going to lose it. Percy’s parents had been much more lax. Sure, it had been inferred that he should get top grades considering how smart he was and to set a good example for his younger siblings, but they weren’t going to grill him on every single grade he got. They usually just looked at his final grades. They worried more about Fred and George- and Ron to some extent. Percy put it on himself to do well because he didn’t want his parents to worry about him. When the pressure got a bit much for either of them, they ended up confiding in each other. They knew that behind their unwavering collected facades, the other was just secretly a huge dork.

**Percy:** _You’re absolutely barmy_

**Oliver:** _What, you’re not going to say anything about the shelf?_

**Percy:** _I was going to get to that!_

**Percy:** _What’s even on there?_

**Oliver:** _Books_

**Percy:** _Ha_

**Oliver:** _This might sound bloody lame, but it’s actually a lot of like music biographies and mystery novels. There’s also some sport history stuff and true crime books and other little odds and ends. I also have a lot of books on queer history on my Kindle. A lot of the guys on the time make fun of me for how much I read, but I can’t be focused on rugby ALL the time, you know? I’m not 17 anymore._

**Percy:** _Good on you! How’s today been going?_

**Oliver:** _50% terrifying. 50% freeing. I’ve basically had to stop looking at social media for my own mental health. Having people talk about me is weird. But I’m better now that I’m talking to you :)_

**Oliver:** _What have you been up to? On Twitter, it says you work at HRP. What’s that mean? From some of your posts, I assume it’s something history-based._

**Percy:** _Historic Royal Palaces. So like Hampton Court, the Tower, etc. I’m a conservator. So it’s my job to keep things from deteriorating and preserving our history for future generations._

**Oliver:** _That sounds brilliant! Do you enjoy it?_

**Percy:** _It can be maddening and even scary at times, but it’s so exciting._

**Oliver:** _That sounds like a good fit for you. How’s the rest of the Weasleys? What are they all up to? I heard George was in an accident?_

**Percy:** _Yeah, he was. Hit by a drunk driver a little over a month ago. According to Mum, he’s getting better every day. Can’t move too much right now with his broken ribs and broken leg, but we’re more worried about his concussion and the hearing loss in his left ear. It’ll be a process._

**Oliver:** _Jesus. How’s Fred handling it?_

**Percy:** _Fred’s Fred. Editing videos. Says he’s starting to go mental trying to think of content to film on the farm. I think he’s worried about George_

**Percy:** _Wait you do know Fred and George are kind of famous YouTubers, right?_

**Oliver:** _Yeah, I know. Seen some of their stuff. It sure is interesting._

**Percy:** _Honestly, at this point we’re just glad they’re doing harmless pranks and weird stuff and not being like the Paul brothers and causing incidents. And they’ve either been investing their money back into their videos or “development opportunities”. Do not ask me what that means- they won’t tell me. And they also help my parents pay for everyone’s schooling. And they pay us when we appear in a video. It makes my taxes a bit more difficult to do, but it could be worse._

**Oliver:** _Huh. The twins have an altruistic streak. Who would have thought?_ _What’s everyone else up to?_

**Percy:** _Mum and Dad are Mum and Dad. Mum’s yarn shop is more successful now that she opened an online store. And Fred and George built her a proper studio to make her yarn. She’s also making little labels with a “Get to know your wool donor” thing on them where she gives fun facts about the sheep. Her customers love it._

**Oliver:** _What are the names in this flock?_

Percy’s mum always named her sheep after famous singers. It originally started out as a joke, but she ended up sticking to it. She usually based it off their personalities.

**Percy:** _Well, we moved from five to ten. Right now they’re mostly singers for James Bond themes, for some reason. There’s Adele, Shirley Bassey, Nancy Sinatra, Carly Simon, Gladys Knight, Lulu, Armstrong, Bowie, Paul, and Ringo_

**Oliver:** _Ringo is still alive?!_

**Percy:** _Somehow. He’s fourteen this year._

**Oliver:** _You had him since we were kids!_

**Oliver:** _Your dad still terrorizing everyone with tales from work?_

**Percy:** _Not as bad since I’ve left home. I occasionally get a horrifying photo of a mold from a restaurant he inspected. Fred and George have been trying to convince him to let them do a ride along with him for their channel to zero success. I’m sure it has something to do with the legality issue._

Arthur Weasley was a health inspector and had many tales of terrifying things he’d seen at work. The Weasley siblings went from “very amused” to “very nauseous” during these stories.

**Oliver:** _How bad can it be?_

**Percy:** _BAD. VERY BAD._

**Percy:** _This has not stopped Ron from going to culinary school, mind you._

**Oliver:** _You know what? This does not surprise me. How are the other three?_

**Percy:** _Gin is planning on studying sports journalism. Bill is a professor of archaeology. He’s going on a dig in France this summer. Charlie and I share a flat. Right now he works at the London Zoo as a zookeeper specializing in birds._

**Oliver:** _Does he do the bird shows?_

**Percy:** _He absolutely does the bird shows._

**Oliver:**

**[via GIPHY](https://giphy.com/gifs/hooray-skeletor-aWRWTF27ilPzy) **

**Oliver:** _How is Charlie living in London? Shouldn’t he be up in the Highlands hiking in the fresh air?_

**Percy:** _I have no idea. I think that’s who was hiring when he was done with school? And he hasn’t bothered to fly from the nest, so to speak. Though half of us are convinced that if he did go live in the middle of nowhere, we’d just never hear from him again._

**Oliver:** _What’s it like living with him?_

**Percy:** _Not bad. Like if I had to pick one of my siblings to live with, Charlie is probably the best choice for me. Our personalities balance each other out. He cleans up after himself for the most part, he doesn’t cause drama, he doesn’t bring sexual partners over, he pays the rent money on time, he doesn’t play Fortnite in his boxers until the middle of the afternoon (unlike Ron). I mean other than the fact that he disappears for hours without telling me where he’s going and I sometimes find his wood shavings from his new whittling hobby all over the flat and his cat occasionally wakes me up by sitting on my face , it’s a decent arrangement._

**Oliver:** _Where does he go?_

**Percy:** _The twins and Ron think it’s fight club. He tells me after the fact. It’s usually the gym a few tube stops away that has a rock wall or a walk around town. I wish he just tells me so I know where he’s at or if I have a shopping list._

**Oliver:** _You are such a mother hen_

**Percy:** _You’ve met my family. You know my mum needs all the help she can get._

**Oliver:** _But you’re all adults. Next thing you know, you’ll be bothering your siblings on when they’re getting married._

**Percy:** _Oh god, I hope not. We all tease each other on that front though, but nothing serious. Mum just bothers Bill at this point. I think I’ve got a few years left until she comes for me._

**Percy:** _How’s your family? If I can ask?_

**Oliver:** _It’s fine. Mum was a wee bit shocked when I told her. Doesn’t help that I blurted it out at Christmas lunch after she tried setting me up with one of her coworker’s daughters. She seems to have gotten over it and has been trying to read everything she can on the subject. She even remembered you’re gay and encouraged me to contact you, but I had no idea how, to be honest. I’m not the most tech savvy and you aren’t the easiest to find. Thank God for Felicity!_

**Percy:** _I don’t think my brothers are ever going to let that photo down._

**Oliver:** _I think it’s adorable. And it’s not like your brothers don’t have embarrassing photos around._

**Percy:** _That involves one of them having shame._

**Oliver:** _Hahahaha_

**Oliver:** _Dad’s been dad, btw. He’s more worried about what this means for my career than my well-being and he wonders why I didn’t wait to talk about it until I retired. I pointed out that the team has been very accepting and Keegan Hirst has had a very successful career since coming out. That kind of shut him up for a bit._

**Percy:** _I’m sorry to hear that._

**Oliver:** _I’m kind of over him at this point._

**Percy:** _Well, I’m always here for you. And the whole Weasley clan, of course._

**Oliver:** _Thanks. I love your family._

**Percy:** _If you want siblings, you can take some of mine. I have plenty to spare._

**Oliver:** _You couldn’t give them up and you know it_.

**Percy:** _Try telling me that when Charlie leaves the lid to the cleaning wipes open and makes them dry out._

**Oliver:** _That bastard!_

**Oliver:** _Ugh, I’m expecting my agent to call me any moment now. The major downside to coming out (other than, you know, the homophobia) is the press I’m going to have to do._

**Percy:** _That sounds awful._

**Oliver:** _Rocketman comes out this week. Do you want to go to the cinema with me to see it? I’m gonna need a treat for getting through this week._

Percy felt his heart speed up. Seeing Oliver again was too strong of a hook. But he had to play it casual.

**Percy:** _Sure! That sounds like fun. I’ll look over my schedule and tell you what times work for me._

**Oliver:** _Brilliant! And let me know if you have a cinema preference or whereabouts you live so I can find showings. And I can buy the tickets if you buy the snacks. :)_

**Percy:** _Absolutely! I’ll get that to you. But I’ll let you go so you can talk to your agent._

**Oliver:** _Thanks mate. Have a good night!_

**Percy:** _Good night!_

Percy flopped back on his bed. He was well and truly fucked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so so much for all the responses I've received so far! I can't express how much I appreciate it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SO SORRY. I've just been busy and some of the words haven't been coming out easily. Also because I am not from England, I try to do some research for this fic. This chapter was going to be a bit longer, but the word count was about equal to the previous chapters and I decided to go ahead and post it, especially because I'm going to be on vacation next week and probably won't be bringing my laptop with me.
> 
> That being said: This has not been beta'd or Brit-pick'd, so any mistakes are my own. I do not own any of these characters.

**Oliver:** _The worst part of the creation of YouTube is that now I have to dress up for radio interviews._

**Percy:** _I’m pretty that people dressed up in suits for BBC interviews for most of its history. But I’m just a costume historian, so what do I know? But I’m sooooo sorry you can’t wear joggers when you’re doing press. It’s not like athleisure is one of the biggest trends currently…..Oh wait. ;)_

**Oliver:** _The sass I can handle. It’s the historical accuracy that really stings._  


[via GIPHY](https://giphy.com/gifs/celebs-muppets-elmo-oubM1tKqnLW5G)

The rest of the week followed similarly in this manner. Oliver was doing press. Occasionally, Percy would receive texts from him. They were mainly plans for their trip to the cinema and bored musings from green rooms with a few questions mixed in. Percy’s replies tended to be sporadic due to his work schedule. Mobile phones and repairing 15th century tapestries tended not to mix. But he sometimes tried to be jokey and reassuring in responses (contrary to his siblings’ jokes, he did not have a stick shoved up his arse).

Like usual, Percy’s family had to put their noses in everything. Well, except Charlie. He only asked a polite amount about what was going on. But Charlie also didn’t stop their siblings’ invasive questions. Ginny had suggestions about what to wear to the cinema. So did Bill. Of course, these ideas clashed. Percy ended up going with a patterned polo shirt and jeans. Ron and George mainly provided inane commentary with a few suggestive jokes in-between. Fred delighted too much that Percy and Oliver had a cinema date and gave “advice” but once it became too off-color, the rest of their siblings told him to stop. It took a few days, but Percy’s mum finally texted him about the whole thing. Molly Weasley had the uncanny ability to guess when her children were available to talk or not; she texted Percy as soon as he arrived home from work on Wednesday with, “I just saw your old school friend Oliver on telly this morning. He’s certainly grown into a handsome young man! Fred’s said you’ve spoken to him?”. Percy answered her questions well enough for her to be satisfied for the moment, at least. Percy’s dad also texted him, but it was more in line of, “I saw your old mate Oliver on the telly when I saw checking out so-and-so’s restaurant. Do you want to see the mold I saw later that day?”

The magazine came out Thursday. As soon as Percy saw it at the train station, he couldn’t resist the urge to pick up a copy. The old lady at the stand smiled at him as he checked out. “He’s quite dishy, isn’t he?”

Percy awkwardly stumbled out an agreement as he handed her his money.

As he was forced to stand during his commute, Percy wasn’t able to read the magazine until his lunch break. The interview was with one of the magazine’s writers named Andre Egwu. Percy vaguely remembered him from Hogwarts. Andre traveled in a similar circle to Charlie and Bill. The interview itself was good. Andre clearly tried to make Oliver comfortable. Oliver even mentioned Percy a few times- albeit not by name. The references to ‘his roommate/best friend that came out to him in their final year’ were pretty clearly referencing him though. Percy figured Oliver didn’t call him by name to protect his privacy- especially this interview was before they started talking to him. The photos accompanying were great. They were sexy and playful candid shots. Well, sexy in the sense that Oliver is extremely attractive and _very_ Percy’s type. Percy figured he must have upset fate or God or whatever deities controlled the universe to have the man he wanted most dangled right in front of him- one he was unlikely to have.

He figured this movie date was going to be interesting.

* * *

“You’re doing what exactly tonight?” Percy asked his brother Charlie.

“I’ve told you, like, six times. I’m going to a board game night that one of my coworkers is hosting,” Charlie said.

“But _why_?” Percy asked, “I hate to be this person, but you aren’t the most sociable bloke. I haven’t seen you hang out with anyone that wasn’t a friend from school in years. You aren’t doing it because I’m seeing a film with Oliver tonight, are you? I told you could come with us, if you wanted.”

Charlie sighed. “I’m not interrupting your date-“

“I told you, it’s not a date! _You_ said it wasn’t a date!” Percy was frustrated. Everyone was giving him all different signals about what this was and it was maddening. Half of his siblings said it was a date, while the other half thought it was a friend thing. When he texted Felicity what she thought, she replied “Listen, I’ve never understood what’s going on that boy’s head a majority of the time.” And Percy couldn’t trust his own dating history because it was awful. He hadn’t had a boyfriend in years- terrible though they all were- and he hadn’t gotten past a second date since then.

“Oh come on, neither of us know that for sure,” Charlie said, “You’re clearly pining. Who bloody knows what Oliver is thinking. And I’m absolutely clueless on this end.”

Percy groaned as he threw himself back on the sofa.

“Quit being dramatic. It’ll be fine,” Charlie said consolingly. “I’m actually going to the board game night because Sammy said it was for her asexual and demisexual friends, alright? I just thought it would be nice to hang out with people like me for once.”

Percy sat back up and surveyed his brother. He seemed earnest enough. “She knows your demisexual? I thought you rarely talk about it.”

“She saw the socks Mum made me. You know, the ones with the flag? I was changing my shoes. She asked about them and we got to talking. She’s also demi.”

“Ah. Where does she work?” Percy asked.

“Reptiles.”

“I want to say something clever but I’ve got nothing at the moment,” Percy sighed, still not sure of what this thing with Oliver meant. If he had been more attentive to what Charlie was saying, he probably would have played the younger brother for once and pried into Charlie’s personal life. But it involved too much energy.

Percy knew he was pining and he knew it was ridiculous. Oliver needed support during this time. That was undoubtedly a fact. Coming out as a gay man while playing a professional sport like rugby could be very difficult. Besides, Percy had no idea if he was even Oliver’s type.

“It’ll be fine, Perce. Just be yourself and you’ll be fine. I-“ Charlie was interrupted by their ringer going off.

“I’ll get it,” Charlie said as he bounded toward the door.

Percy sat up and took a few deep breaths. It was now or never.

“Hey! Charlie Weasley! Good to see you, mate!” Oliver’s still distinctive voice could be heard from the front door.

“Good to see you, Wood! Come on in,” Charlie said in response.

While Oliver and Charlie chatted a bit, Percy got up and headed toward the front door. Within moments, he was enveloped in Oliver’s strong arms.

“It’s so good to finally see you!”

Percy relaxed quickly after the initial startle. There was something Percy always found comforting about Oliver’s voice.

“It’s good to see you too, Ollie.”

Oliver gave one last squeeze and stepped away. He was as handsome as ever. Tall, muscular, a warm smile. He opted for jeans and a vintage-style Beatles shirt. He looked over Percy. “I swear you’ve somehow gotten taller since I last saw you,” he laughed. Charlie chuckled. Percy was the tallest Weasley brother with a few centimeters on Bill and Ron. Charlie, the twins, and Ginny were much shorter.

“Maybe you’ve shrunk,” Percy said teasingly.

“You and I are eye-level,” Oliver pointed out.

Percy shrugged. “Nearly,” he said with a grin. When they were kids, Percy did enjoy lording the few scant centimeters he had on Oliver. It didn’t really matter when Oliver had a quite a few stones of weight on him- mostly muscle.

“How was your day?” Oliver asked.

“Oh, fine. I’ve been working on cleaning a centuries old tapestry for a while now. It’s slow work because the fibers are so delicate. But it’s been preserved rather well.”

“I think it’s really cool that you can do that,” Oliver said, “I can barely figure out when my socks are close to ripping.”

“How old are your socks?” Charlie asked with a quizzical look.

Oliver groaned. “No, that was a stupid joke. I shouldn’t have said that.”

“It’s fine,” Charlie said, “We hear more failed jokes than you would hear in a lifetime.”

“Fred and George can be _exhausting_ ,” Percy agreed, “They use us as their test audience too much.”

“I bet,” Oliver said.

The three of them chatted a bit more before Percy checked his watch and noted the time.

“We better get going then,” Oliver said.

The two men said their goodbyes to Charlie and headed out of the flat. Oliver led Percy to where he parked his car. Percy was a bit surprised to see a blue Volkswagen Golf.

“A hatchback, really?” Percy asked.

“Are you a car snob all of a sudden?” Oliver retorted as he opened the door for Percy.

“No, it’s just surprising to see a professional sportsman in such a sensible car.”

Oliver got in his own seat and started the car. “Oh yeah, my father thought I should get a Jaguar or something.” Oliver snorted. “I told him that I’ve never been a car person. Ever. And where do I drive? Work. Tescos. My childhood home when I’m not busy. I use public transport a lot. I don’t live the most exciting life, exactly. Besides, Top Gear said it was a nice car. It’s an investment car.”

Percy chuckled.

“What’s so funny?” Oliver asked.

“That Top Gear suggested it. You sound like my dad.”

“Yeah? Your dad is a good bloke,” Oliver said as he backed out as his parking space and entered traffic.

“Yes, he is, but it’s the most middle-age man statement that I have ever heard. You and I- we are two of the most boring people I have ever met,” Percy said with a laugh to show he meant no harm.

Oliver laughed too. “I think the jury is still out on me, but I don’t think you’re boring.”

Percy’s stomach did a small flip-flop, but he still spoke, “How am I _not_ boring? Everyone in my family says so.”

“C’mon, mate. Don’t believe that. You repair our history. I’m certain you’re one of the few people that has, like, touched Queen Victoria’s knickers or something like that. How many people can say that?” He looked over at Percy and grinned.

“Eyes on the road,” Percy said, then continued, “They’re not knickers. They’re bloomers. With a split crotch.”

“See!” Oliver said. Then paused. “Wait, what?”

“Oh, in Queen Victoria’s time, women’s undergarments had a split crotch so they didn’t have to remove all their heavy skirts or lift them up in order to relieve themselves.”

“Huh. That’s fascinating. And a bit odd, quite frankly, but I guess it makes sense. Make you look at the Victorians in a different way, doesn’t it?” Oliver said. He was clearly trying to process that information.

“It doesn’t make me fascinating for knowing it,” Percy pointed out.

“But you’re so passionate and so knowledgeable! And you could sew period garments by the time we were 14. You made our Merlin costumes, remember?”

Like the true closeted dorks they were, one Halloween Oliver and Percy dressed up as Arthur and Merlin from the BBC show _Merlin_. They religiously watched the show. In hindsight, the two of them could pass it off as a kind of cheesy, fun fantasy show, but were at least partially watching it for the hot guys. Or at least Percy was. 

“I just made the tops. I didn’t make the trousers, if you remember.” In fairness, he _did_ hand sew them because he didn’t have a sewing machine in his dorm and didn’t know where to find one to borrow. But he did have a small sewing kit. Molly Weasley wouldn’t let any of her kids leave for school without the barest knowledge of how to sew a button. By the time he was thirteen, Percy had to occasionally fix the hems of his hand-me-down trousers while he was at school. He just grew too fast.

“Still impressive. It’s more than most Millennials could do,” Oliver said.

Percy decided to change the subject. “How have you been handling press?”

Oliver groaned. “Ugh. I hate it. I’m not, I’m not _good_ at talking to people. I mean, other than like you and Felicity. My therapist says all the trauma I’ve been through makes me shield myself from other people. Even though I’m not holding in my biggest secret anymore, it’s still hard to talk to people? I’m not exactly charming. But I keeping reminding myself that my coming out can help those kids we used to be- scared of coming out for fear of being bullied. I may be one small part of the conversation, but every little bit helps.”

“I’ve seen some of your interviews. You’re plenty charming in them,” Percy said, “I mean, if the idiots on _Love Island_ can be successful on telly, you more than certainly can.”

“I can be up there with the professional hot people?!” Oliver faked gasped in delight and then cackled. “Don’t knock _Love Island_ though. That’s the greatest rubbish that’s ever aired on television.”

“I am perfectly aware of that, thank you. It’s a wonderful distraction. Charlie _hates_ it.”

“Oh!” Oliver interjected, “Speaking of press, Felicity is trying to get me to go on her podcast with Lee Jordan. I’m game. My manager is harder to convince but he’ll come round. He says their reach isn’t very far. I say I deserve it after being in the same building as Piers Morgan.”

“I still say you should have punched him,” Percy said, only half-joking. So you’re going to be on Only the Tea with Felicity and Lee?”

“I’m certainly trying. I love listening to it. Their review of _Dirty Computer_ was brilliant.”

“It’s honestly maddening how good their show is,” Percy said, “They tried to talk me into talking about that Queen Anne film _The Favourite_. I refused because I didn’t want to get in trouble at work. They actually filmed some things at Hampton Court and we’ve used it to promote ourselves. But I _hated_ that film. I absolutely adore Queen Anne and I feel like they didn’t portray her accurately. She was so smart and clever and while Olivia Coleman is absolutely brilliant- like _brilliant-_ having her be so stupid is just- Ugh. Errr. Like this is the _only_ thing most Brits- people around the world- will know of her and it’s so wrong. I know it’s supposed to be inaccurate, but bloody hell. She was responsible for creating the whole bloody United Kingdom. Like, seriously, during her reign Scotland joined Britain and it created the United Kingdom. We trust too much of Sarah Churchill’s words and she’s a _biased source. And_ the costumes were nowhere near accurate. God.”

There was a pause for a moment. Percy shuttered at his own word vomit that just spewed out of him. Then Oliver spoke up, “You know, I didn’t see it. But I’ll take your words for it.”

Percy sighed. “Sorry. Sorry. No one will let me talk about it and I just care. A lot.”

“It’s all right, Perce. I know how seriously you take history. I know I’d be upset if they made a film about the history of rugby and they got it all wrong. You should tell me more about Queen Anne sometime. She sounds fascinating. Seriously.” Percy could tell Oliver was extremely sincere.

“Also don’t be surprised if Fred tries to talk you into doing a YouTube video,” Percy said, changing the subject, “With George being out for the count for a while, he really wants to do a lot of Pride-related content next month.”

“He tells you these things?” Oliver asked.

“We talk. I think he’s truly bored on the farm. And he’s trying to talk me into doing some of the Pride content. I know he wants to do coming out stories of friends and family.”

“Yeah, I can probably do that. But I would have to check with my manager. I’d want to film with you there though.”

“What, scared of Fred?” Percy paused for a moment, “Actually maybe you should be. He has some wild ideas.”

“I’d think it would just be fun to hang out with you at the Burrow. And if you’re already going to be there…”

“He might just come over to my flat or have me go over to his flat. He’s being going back and forth a little. Lee’s still in the flat because of work.”

“The three of them live together?” Oliver asked, “They’re still inseparable, I see.”

“And Angelina spends the night sometimes,” Percy said, “Wait, you do know Fred and Lee are dating, right?”

“ _What?!_ ” Oliver shouted, “Fred’s gay?!”

Percy was slightly alarmed. “Interested in Fred or something?” he questioned awkwardly.

“What?” Oliver looked over at Percy for a second. Then realized what Percy had asked. “Oh, God, _no_. That’s too much chaos for me. Lee and him actually make sense. I was just surprised. I didn’t realize Freddy was out. I knew about Lee. But I haven’t watched a lot of the twins’ videos. And neither of them have talked about them dating each other from what I can remember. I think I can remember Lee talking about a boyfriend, but that’s it.”

“That’s because they want to keep it on the down low- private- what have you. Some of the twins’ ‘fans’ can be a bit… intense? And Fred doesn’t want it to look like he’s using his fame to raise his boyfriend’s fame. And Fred’s not gay. He’s bisexual. He does occasionally talk about it.”

“Huh. That does make sense,” Oliver said, “Anyone else in your family isn’t completely straight? So I don’t have any more surprises?”

“Charlie is demisexual. He’s the only other one for sure.”

“You say that as if you have theories?”

“Honestly, I don’t think anyone is the family is a straight zero on the Kinsey scale.”

“That’s fair,” Oliver said, “Hey, if I do one of Fred’s videos, can I get one of those ‘Leave Percy Alone Shirts’?” After the twins released a handful of videos where annoyed and harassed Percy, a couple of fans started a hashtag to get them to leave Percy alone. He had no idea why a bunch of teenage girls who were fans of his brothers would do this, but they were harmless. Fred thought this was hilarious and decided to add the phrase to their official merch line. Considering the twins were kind enough to give Percy a cut of the profits of the merch, he tried not to complain too much. While it was embarrassing, at least most of Percy’s coworkers weren't the types to watch Fred and George’s weird videos.

Percy groaned. “I thought you said you haven’t watched a lot of the twins’ videos?”

“I’ve watched a few of the ones with you in them,” Oliver embarassedly admitted, “I, um, really enjoyed when you taught them about Elizabethan times and clothes. That was fun. It was nice to see you three getting along.”

Percy lightly blushed. “Those liars have bloody drama training,” he said, “They used to clown on the Medieval and Renaissance faire circuit. It was a put-on for the cameras. Well, some of their history knowledge wasn’t. But still. It was fun to do though. They considered getting Charlie to teach them falconing, but we nixed that. I think we were scared of a falcon taking one of our hens.”

“That would have been fun though. Well, not the chicken taking thing,” Oliver said. “So they’ve been sneakily been teaching kids things? Those evil geniuses.”

“They’ve been trying to separate themselves from the Paul Brothers-esq YouTubers- especially since the whole Japan incident with Logan Paul. My parents actually had a talk with them about how they couldn’t do things like that. And they agreed immediately. If you’ve noticed, they’ve started to move towards harmless pranks and doing silly experiments. They’ve always thought getting famous through streaming video game play-throughs is lazy. Same with daily vlogging. I’m just glad they have some tact.”

Oliver nodded in agreement. “The cinema is right ahead. I can see it,” he said, “Thanks for coming to this with me, by the way.”

“Thanks for inviting me,” Percy responded. They shared a smile. “I would have eventually seen it by myself. Probably. But it’s nice to go to the cinema with someone else. Just don’t make me pay for my entire salary’s worth of concession food.”

Oliver barked out a laugh. “Hey! I remember seeing you eat an entire pudding in one sitting.”

“That was for a bet,” Percy argued.

“No, it wasn’t! You have the worst sweet tooth!”

Percy waved him off. “Oh, Ron’s is way worse than mine.”

Oliver started pulling into the car park as he spoke. “While I don’t doubt that, didn’t you once have five cavities in one trip to the dentist?”

Percy spluttered for a second, but quickly pulled himself together, “That was the year I started drinking coffee. And apparently my teeth are ‘sensitive to its acidic properties.’’

“Ugh. How can you drink that stuff?” Oliver groaned.

“ _Coffee_?”

“Yeah. It’s disgusting.”

“You’re still anti-coffee?! Most normal adults drink it, you know. For energy.”

Oliver pulled into a spot. “You’re _British_. Drink more tea. It’s better for you,” he argued.

“I drink more tea than coffee you know. How do you get energy?”

“Water, for one,” Oliver said while ticking it off on his thumb. “I also drink green smoothies and juices. A lot of times they have chia in it.”

“How can you do _that_ everyday?! You’re drinking vegetables that should not be drank. Kale is not a liquid.”

“My body is a big part of my job, remember?” Oliver pointed out, “You get used to it. Though with the season done I can have a little bit more fun. I might actually get a soft drink.”

“I will buy you one soft drink,” Percy said as he unbuckled his seatbelt, now that they were fully parked.

“And popcorn,” Oliver added as he unbuckled his own seatbelt.

“And popcorn.”

“And candy?” Oliver asked.

“We’ll see.”

“Shall we head out?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I cannot thank you all enough for your kudos and comments and engagement. Especially because this is such a small ship. 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I seriously cannot express how flattered I am by all the response I've gotten! I never expected it. Thank you all so much!
> 
> I tried not to put any spoilers for Rocketman, even though I know it's been out for a while. There are some vague, mild ones though. So if I spoiled any part of it for you, I'm sorry.
> 
> As always, this has not been beta'd or Brit-pick'd and I do not own these characters.

“Well, it was certainly gayer than I thought it would be. Which is great. Large studios tend to ‘straighten’ things out. _Bohemian Rhapsody_ was severely disappointing on that end. On many ends really,” Percy said between bites of a bacon sandwich. Oliver had dragged him to a greasy spoon a bit further off and sequestered them in a far corner booth to discuss _Rocketman_. By this point, they had been talking for a while. Oliver had already finished his sandwich and Percy was almost out of tea. They both enjoyed the film. It had definitely stirred up a lot of emotion in both of them. They laughed at some parts and got teary at others. At the points with Elton’s father, Percy had ended up squeezing Oliver’s hand once he noticed Oliver sniffling. 

“For sure,” Oliver said, “I mean, it is Elton John and he’s kind of hard to straighten out ya know, but still. The ‘Take Me To The Pilot’ scene was _woah_. Shame Robb Stark ended up being such a dick. But that scene- in a big Hollywood film like that? I mean, it wasn’t _Maurice_ but...”

Percy did a mix of groaning and chuckling at the mention of _Maurice_ , which was a Merchant Ivory film from the late 80s about a gay man struggling and eventually finding love in Edwardian England. It had been _a lot_ to handle when they were closeted lads, who had- for some reason- really gotten into James Ivory’s E.M. Forster films. The sex wasn’t shown on screen because it was the mid-80s, but it was clearly implied and there was some nudity. And a lot of longing. t had been a turning point in Percy being willing to admit to his sexuality. 

“Did we _really_ watch that without knowing what it was?” Percy asked.

“In hindsight, maybe I was curious?” Oliver said, “But I also didn’t think we’d see like Rupert Graves’s dick. I’m surprised Pince let us check it out, now that I think about it. Or the fact Hogwarts even had a copy.”

“It was in the restricted section and we were like 17,” Percy pointed out, “I think Flitwick once had a class on banned books? Maybe it was because of that?”

“Or maybe someone on staff is _really_ into Hugh Grant films,” Oliver lobbed.

“My money is on Snape,” Percy joked right back, “Maybe he has a soft side.”

Oliver barked out a hearty laugh. It did certainly conjure up a ridiculous image: their greasy-haired, mildly sadistic science teacher crying to _Bridget Jones Diary_. 

Oliver grabbed a chip in the pile in front of them and took a bite. “Man, he was a dick. Remember when he looked dead in my eyes and told me I’d never amount to anything? And then I had a breakdown after class. That was fun.” A scowl crossed his handsome face. Percy’s immediate instinct was to smooth it down; he never liked Oliver being upset.

“But you’ve proved him wrong. Not everyone can do what you’ve done. You’re a successful rugby player. And you’ve come out of the closet while playing rugby. That’s a huge step,” Percy said with a reassuring pat on Oliver’s hand. Oliver took it and gave it a squeeze. Oliver smiled at him.

“You’re right as always, Perce,” Oliver said with a sigh.

“At least you have better fashion sense than him,” Percy said, “I hated that he wore mismatched black clothes all the time.”

Oliver perked up at Percy’s joke. “I know, right?! And all those black turtlenecks. I still can’t look at them.”

Percy broke out into hysterical giggles. “Oh god, I forgot about the bloody turtlenecks.”

Oliver laughed too. “God, I missed this,” he said, “I missed _you_. “

“I missed you too,” Percy said softly. Maybe he was dreaming this, but he could feel something shift between them in the silence.

Oliver eventually looked away and gave a little cough. “So what are you doing tomorrow?”

Percy’s brain stalled for a second, trying to figure out where Oliver was going with this. But Oliver raised his eyebrows up at him, trying to get Percy to answer. “Oh! Um, I actually go to a yoga class on Saturdays with Audrey,” he said awkwardly.

“You never struck me as the yoga type,” Oliver said, “How did that come about?”

“It was kind of a distraction,” Percy said in explanation. When Oliver’s brows furrowed in confusion, Percy continued, “I had this boyfriend in graduate school- Roger- he wasn’t very kind to me. He cheated on me twice.”

“That arsehole!” Oliver interjected. 

Percy continued, “The first time seemed like a one-time drunken thing, so I brushed it off. The _second_ time I caught him snogging another man in bed. Roger had told me that he was under the weather, so I decided to surprise him with some soup. Made it myself too. His flatmate let me in. This ‘relationship’ had apparently been going on for a while and I think his flatmate felt bad for me? So I caught them. And then I broke it off. I ended up running to Felicity and Audrey’s flat, sobbing like an idiot. They took care of me- fed me ice cream and we watched _Doctor Who_ and I slept on their sofa that evening. The next day, Felicity had already gone to work and Audrey decided to distract me by taking me to her yoga class. We’ve gone practically every weekend since. We usually get drinks afterward or go to Waterstones.”

“Who in the bloody hell would cheat on you?!” Oliver said, clearly upset, “If I ever run into that fucker, he’ll be meeting my fists.”

“Oliver,” Percy said sensibly, in an attempt to calm him down, “you don’t even know what he _looks_ like. And, trust me, he’s not worth the battery charge.”

Oliver looked intensely at Percy. He’d always been stubborn. Fortunately, Percy could also be stubborn. He stared right back at Oliver.

It’s not that Percy wouldn’t _love_ to see Oliver beat the crap out of Roger, the problem was more that he knew if Oliver did beat the crap out of Roger, Roger would undoubtedly sue. And Roger was a relentless arsehole. Oliver would surely be convicted of battery because someone cheating on your friend almost _three years ago_ certainly isn’t a good reason to physically attack that person. 

Oliver sighed and sagged back into the booth. “Yeah, you’re probably right. But you still shouldn’t be treated like that,” Oliver said. 

“I know,” Percy said, even if he wasn’t sure that was true. “I’ve heard it from the girls and my brothers. And Gin. I’m surprised _they_ didn’t beat the shite of him. I almost had to hold back Charlie from actually doing it.”

“Charlie angry is absolutely terrifying,” Oliver said. He wasn’t wrong. “I saw it happen only once- when he was my rugby captain and someone tackled me way too hard and he was _furious._ Some of the other guys had to physically hold him back.”

“Yeah, he takes after Dad. If he’s angry, you know something is wrong.” 

Oliver paused for a second and shifted the subject, “So, yoga? You must like it if you’ve stuck with it this long.”

“Yeah,” Percy said nodding, “It’s important to keep active, given that I spend most of my time hunched over a table. And I actually have muscle tone and core strength now.”

“Yeah?” Oliver said with interest.

“Flexible too,” Percy said teasingly before taking a sip of tea.

Before Oliver could say anything, a feminine voice asked, “Will you be needing the bill soon, luvs?”

The two men looked up to see their waitress.

“Yeah,” Oliver said, “We’ll take our bill whenever.”

“One bill or two?”

Oliver looked over at Percy. “One,” Oliver said.

“I’ll be right back,” the waitress said.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Percy said awkwardly, “I could have paid for my own meal.” Growing up poor had given Percy a bit of a chip on his shoulder. He knew that Oliver probably meant nothing by it.

“Perce, it’s a bacon butty, some tea, and the chips we shared. Think of it as the difference between the tickets and the concessions,” Oliver said nonchalantly, “Besides, you can pay next time.”

“All right,” Percy acquiesced, his stomach fluttering at the promise of next time.

With the waitress’s appearance, whatever spell Oliver and Percy seemed to be under dissipated. It disappointed Percy. For a moment, he thought this evening might lead to something of note. 

Oliver ran a hand through his hair and yawned.

“Tired?” Percy asked.

Oliver nodded. “I feel like this has been one of the most exhausting weeks of my life,” he groaned.

“It probably has. Do you have any more press this weekend?” 

“I think there’s something on Sunday? I’m usually on top of things, but this week has been a slog.”

“Good end though?” Percy asked.

Oliver gave him a sleepy grin that made Percy’s heart beat faster. “Seeing an Elton John biopic with my favourite person? This has been the highlight of my week.”

Percy felt himself flush as the waitress came back with their bill. Oliver dug out some cash out of his wallet and told her to keep the change.

Once they arrived back at Oliver’s car, they discussed _Rocketman_ more. It started as ranking the musical numbers, but it quickly devolved into debating the most attractive actor. Percy was between Taron Egerton- although the thinned out hair was a shame- and Richard Madden. While Oliver agreed with Percy that both guys were attractive, he really liked Jamie Bell.

Too soon they were parked outside of Percy’s building. 

“Here we are,” Oliver’s voice was tinged with a sigh.

“Yeah.”

Oliver turned to face Percy. “I had fun tonight,” he said with a grin.

Percy smiled back. “Me too.”

“I’m dying to know how Charlie’s game night went,” Oliver said, “You’re going to have to tell me. He’s just such an outdoor person.”

Percy laughed a bit. “I’ll let you know.” He checked the time on his phone. It was almost midnight; they’d been out longer than Percy thought. “I should probably head back inside or else Charlie’ll think that you’ve kidnapped me or something.”

“Like I can make you do something you don’t want to do,” Oliver said with a snort, “You’re way too stubborn.”

“Look who’s talking,” Percy said with a smile. Oliver shrugged.

Percy reached over and patted Oliver’s closer hand, but Oliver ended up maneuvering himself in his seat and gave Percy a hug. It was a bit awkward with the console digging into Percy’s side, but it was still nice. Oliver eventually let him go.

“Good night, Perce.”

“Good night, Ollie.”

Percy got out of the car and waved as Oliver drove off.

When Percy arrived in the flat, Charlie was sitting on the sofa, carefully studying some sort of book.

“Did your friend give you homework?” Percy asked his brother.

“Yeah, she wants to teach me Dungeons and Dragons. And join her campaign,” Charlie said in a monotone, not looking up.

“Don’t let the twins hear you talk about that,” Percy said and took a seat next to his brother.

“Well, they can bloody well get over themselves,” Charlie said and finally looked up, “Good night?”

“Yeah,” Percy said with a smile, “Pretty good. We might have gotten a bit flirty? I still don’t know what we are to each other, but I know you probably don’t want to talk about it.”

“We can talk about it,” Charlie said, “I just don’t think I’d be much help. I’d ask Gin or Bill if I were you.”

“It’s all right,” Percy said, “Did you have a good night?”

“Yeah,” Charlie said brightly, “I didn’t understand what was going on half the time, but I had fun. Thus why I’m learning about what type of character I want to be.”

“Good.” Percy yawned. “I think I’m going to shower and go to bed. Have fun with character building.” As he reached his bedroom door, he stopped and turned back to his brother. “I think you’d like being a cleric or druid. Depending on the edition.”

“Thanks, nerd!” Charlie yelled back.

“No problem!”

Once he was freshly showered and back in his bedroom, Percy realized he hadn’t checked his mobile most of the night. There were _thirty-seven_ texts from his sibling group text. Scrolling past it all, it started out as them bothering him for information about the movie date and delved into some weird argument between Ginny and Ron about concession snacks. He figured those could wait until morning. One was from Audrey confirming their yoga class. Percy shot out a reply that he’d be there. The most recent one was from Oliver.

**Oliver:** _Just letting you know I made it home safely. Thanks again for coming with me! I had fun! :)_

**Percy:** _I had fun too! Thanks for inviting me!_

**Percy:** _Charlie update: he’s studying a D &D handbook._

**Oliver:** _I guess he had fun then? Who would have thought?_

**Oliver:** _I’ll let you go to bed now. Don’t want you falling asleep at yoga. ;)_

**Percy:** _Ha. Good night!_

**Oliver:** _G’night!_

* * *

The next morning, Percy could see Audrey had beaten him to class. If anyone was more punctual than him, it was probably Audrey Bloomingfeld. She had gone to Hogwarts too, but she lived in Hufflepuff. For a while, she was mainly his friend because they were both friends with Felicity. The two of them had a bit of a competitive streak about who was going to be in the top of the class. But once they got to know each other better, they calmed down. They shared a love of fantasy and crafts. They were both ridiculously sentimental. Audrey was the type to document every big moment in life in a scrapbook while Percy knitted mittens and hats for his friends for presents.

Audrey noticed Percy and waved him over to their usual corner. Because Percy was usually the tallest person in the class, he preferred to stay out of people’s way. While Audrey was _much_ shorter than him, she didn’t mind the back corner; she could follow along by looking at everyone else in the class. She was practically a pro anyway.

“Hey Red! Long time no see!” Audrey greeted Percy as she laid her yoga mat on the floor. Her bobbed hair was help back with a rainbow headband and she was wearing yoga pants and a Hogwarts choir t-shirt that still somehow fit.

“We were both here last week,” Percy said.

“Yeah, but what a week it’s been,” she said.

“Can’t argue with you there,” Percy said as he placed his own mat.

They stretched as they waited for their instructor to start class. Trelawney was a good teacher, even if she was a bit kooky.

“How’s your family?” Audrey asked as she stretched her arms.

“Annoying,” Percy said with an eyeroll, “They’re playing matchmaker with the whole Oliver thing. They are all convinced we belong together. Or at least he’d be a good shag.”

“They just want you to be happy,” she said, “Besides, I’m sure it’s a happy distraction with George’s recovery.”

Percy sighed. He hadn’t thought about that aspect. George’s accident had been rough on them all. Of course, anyone’s relationship drama would be good entertainment. 

“You may be right,” Percy said, “but it doesn’t mean I enjoy it.”

“But you enjoy the attention of a lovely, fit rugby player,” Audrey teased.

“Shut up,” Percy said, avoiding her gaze, “How are you always so observant?”

“I’m a teacher. I have to be.”

Trelawney swept in at the moment to start class. “Good morning, my star children. It is time to align your chakras and open your third eye. Let us begin!” She struck the singing bowl in the corner with a mallet and they all listened to its sound.

Percy followed along with the rest of class and tried to empty his mind. Trelawney hadn’t deviated from her routine in the entire time Percy had attended her class, so he tended to zone out. It was difficult sometimes to go completely blank, especially at times like these when everything was chaotic. He breathed as deeply as he could and listened to what his body was telling him. Focus only on that. He got good enough at it that he was slightly surprised when Trelawney finished the class. 

“Coffee or smoothies?” Audrey asked as they gathered their belongings.

“I have a feeling we should be healthy for once and do smoothies,” Percy said. Audrey groaned. “Come on, coffee addict, let’s be smart for once. I’m not giving you back to Felicity hyped on caffeine.”

“She’s used to it by this point,” Audrey quipped as she begrudgingly led him to the nearby smoothie place.

“Is that how you deal with kids all day?” Percy asked. Audrey was a music teacher in a primary school. She naturally had a lot of energy, but even she couldn’t rely on that alone.

“Duh.”

“How are the kids anyway?”

“Many of them are tone deaf, but really sweet,” Audrey said, “Though with the term winding down, they’re getting extra rambunctious.”

“That’s what Charlie said about the zoo.”

“I can’t imagine what he goes through on the day-to-day,” she said, “I kind of hate field trip days and that’s his entire week.”

They paused their conversation as they reached the smoothie place and ordered. While they waited, he noticed that Audrey was quieter than normal.

“Everything all right?” he asked.

Audrey scrunched up her nose in thought and then spoke, “What would you say if I told you that Felicity and I wanted to get married during Pride this year? Kind of like an elopement?”

Percy was stunned for a moment. When they- finally- started dating, he assumed Felicity and Audrey would get married one day. He was a bit shocked this conversation was finally coming up five years into their relationship. Felicity was more of the wild card of the couple, but she never seemed like the elopement type. And it was hard to imagine Audrey do something completely unplanned like that. He considered their families. From what he knew, they were both _a lot_ to deal with it.

“I think both of your families will kill you if you don’t invite them,” he said carefully.

“That’s _why_ we’re thinking about it,” Audrey said. Their names were called and Audrey ran up and grabbed their smoothies. Once she was back, she handed Percy his drink and sat down. “I mean, think about it. Her grandmum is trying to get me to convert. My grandmum is trying to get _her_ to convert. And I can think of six cousins who will start drama if we have an actual wedding-wedding. And that’s just my family. If we keep it secular and secret, everyone will be mad instead of one half getting mad.”

“I see your point…” Percy said.

“There’s a ‘but’ coming isn’t there?”

“But Felicity’s father would be so upset. She’s his only daughter and her mum is gone. Never mind what _your_ parents will say.”

“But we don’t want to deal with a huge wedding,” Audrey whined. 

“You could take both of your parents on holiday- maybe your sisters and Felicity’s brother as well- and have a surprise wedding? Find a rabbi or a priest or some randomly ordained person to marry you, if you’d like. Keep it small and only deal with the aftermath of extended family?”

Audrey considered Percy’s idea. “It’s not terrible,” she said, “I’ll talk to Felicity and see what she thinks. Thank you.”

“No problem,” Percy said, “My parents eloped and it was a thing for their families for a while.”

“Wasn’t your mum preggers?” Audrey asked.

“I think it was a false flag?” Percy said, “I’m not actually sure.”

“Well, if Felicity and I go through with this ‘holiday’ idea, I’m drafting you for help. I’ll need someone organized. At the very least, you can translate marriage requirements in other countries.”

“If it gets you and Felicity to finally tie the knot, fine.”

Audrey checked her mobile. Percy watched as a series of emotions crossed her face as he kept pressing the screen and brought it close to her face.

“Oh, sweetie,” she whispered, “you’re going to want to see this.” 

Percy felt his stomach drop as Audrey handed him her phone. Was something wrong at home?! Did George take a turn for the worse? Why wasn’t _his_ phone going off? He knew the ringer was on.

Nothing could prepare Percy for what he saw on screen.

**_HAS OLIVER WOOD FOUND HIMSELF A BOYTOY ALREADY?!_ **

**_By Rita Skeeter_ **

****

_Colour me surprised, but when I first heard Harlequins star Oliver Wood come out of the closet, I wasn’t expecting him to be staring in his own Harlequin novel so quickly! On Friday evening, Mr. Wood was spotted with a young, ginger gentleman at a cafe in Twickenham. According to other patrons, they appeared quite cozy in their booth in the back- talking intently the entire time. Photos provided by the other patrons seem to prove this true. According to our sources, they were there talking at least an hour. Our researcher says Oliver’s date is none other than YouTube stars The Weasley Twins’ older brother, Percy Weasley. Well, one of their many older brothers. While Percy doesn’t exactly seem thrilling on his social media, maybe he has something else Oliver desires. He is quite tall after all, if you know what I mean! It’s obvious why someone like Percy would go after Oliver: he’s handsome, wealthy, and very influential. While I doubt this couple is a forever thing, maybe these crazy kids will surprise me!_

“I’m screwed, aren’t I?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was that? I will say one of the fun things about writing a non-Magical AU is deciding what all the professors are like non-magic.
> 
> If you haven't seen or read Maurice, I highly encourage it! 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!
> 
> (By the way, I'm malpal331 at tumblr, if that interests anyone. I do not have a side blog, so I do get very varied- just to be warned)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! It seems like I'm on an unintentionally monthly posting schedule. Thanks to everyone who has been commenting and kudos-ing and reading!
> 
> As always, this has not been beta'd or Brit-pick'd and I do not own these characters.

“Did you really go on a date with Oliver Wood?” a voice to Percy’s left asked. It was Monday and Percy was on the train to work. He looked up from his phone and saw one of the actors at Hampton Court- Lester? Arthur? Aaron?- looking at him in awe. This man was only a passing acquaintance at best and breaking the cardinal rule of train etiquette- no talking. Naturally, Percy was annoyed.

“I went to the cinema with him, yes, but it wasn’t a date,” Percy said quietly.

“But how do you know him? He’s a top-notch rugby player.”

“I went to school with him,” Percy replied slightly clipped.

He zoned out as the man kept talking.

This whole tabloid thing was a mess. As soon as it got out, Percy’s mobile kept buzzing. Audrey had chosen to distract him by coming to his flat and making him watch telly with her until Charlie came home from work. Oliver was a mix of angered and concerned. He apologized profusely for what Rita Skeeter said. Oliver said Percy shouldn’t believe her opinions. No one else thought he was a gold digger or whatever she was implying. All the Weasleys were angry too. On Sunday, Percy was subjected to Fred ranting his ear off on the phone. He claimed that while he mocked Percy a lot, they were still family and Fred didn’t mean half the things he said. At this point, Percy was more annoyed than anything else. He didn’t exactly enjoy a microscope to his private life.

“Oi! Chester! No one wants to hear you nattering on. It’s too early. Leave the lad alone,” someone else said from nearby. Percy recognized one of the ticket-counter ladies scowling at his seat mate. Percy mouthed ‘thank you’ at her. She gave a curt nod back.

Chester had at least the decency to look sheepish at being called out.

A few minutes after the train finally quieted down again, Percy’s phone buzzed. It had been doing that a lot recently. He bit back a groan, remembering that he at least turned his Twitter notifications off. It seemed like everyone in the goddamn country had an opinion about him and Oliver “dating”. Or maybe it was just the same vocal twenty people, but they were still annoying. After a moment of debating of whether to look at the screen, Percy finally decided to rip that plaster off. 

**Fred:** _Talked to Wood and his manager. You free to come home this weekend to film with your boyfriend? If the promise of Wood (heh) doesn’t get you over here, a reminder it’s the Pride stuff I want to work on._

Percy rolled his eyes. He was certain that now the initial anger had subsided, Fred was going to relish this situation way too much.

**Percy:** _Not my boyfriend. But I suppose. For Pride, of course._

**Fred:** _Suuuuuure. I’ll send you filming schedule and stuff later._

**Percy:** _How are you up already anyway?_

**Fred:** _We live on a farm?_

**Fred:** _The rooster can wake Satan, swear to God._

**Percy:** _True_

**Percy:** _My train has reached the station. I’ll talk to you later._

**Fred:** _Have fun mending codpieces or whatever the fuck you do at work._

**Percy:** _At least I’ve never voluntary done the cinnamon challenge. Three times._

**Fred:** _Touché_

Fortunately for Percy, he wasn’t asked about Oliver again at work that day. Unlike Chester, most of his coworkers were either too polite to ask, didn’t know, or didn’t care. There were a few times when he believed he heard giggling or whispering when he passed a few people. But at least they were quiet about it.

During his lunch break on Tuesday, Percy received a text from Oliver. It was a photo. Oliver was sitting at some sort of recording table with Felicity Simons and Lee Jordan. It could only mean one thing.

**Percy:** _Managed to get on Only the Tea last minute?_

**Oliver:** _Yep. I basically had to beg my people, but whatever. Lee made me sign up for Instagram while we were recording. He said you had one?_

For someone who worked in radio, Lee Jordan was _obsessed_ with Instagram. He was a fun follow. Lee always seemed to know all the cool events that were happening in London but given his job that wasn’t really all that surprising. If Percy was ever worried about what the twins were up to, he knew Lee was probably posting about it.

**Percy:** _Yeah. He can help you find it, if need be. But you just have to search my name._

**Percy:** _I mainly post things I find at work and projects and photos of my family. It’s not the most exciting._

**Oliver:** _No artsy photos of a cup of tea next to a book? ;-)_

**Percy:** _Maybe a few of those._

**Oliver:** _I have no idea how they even convinced me to do it. I don’t know what to post._

**Percy:** _From experience, those two can be absurdly persuasive. But you could use Instagram to promote media you do? Rugby when it starts again? Books you’ve been reading? It can be whatever you want. You could start by posting the photo you sent me._

**Oliver:** _See, this is why you’re the brains of the operation._

**Percy:** _Try listening to Fred and George’s “social media strategies” conversations. Don’t you have PR people?_

**Oliver:** _Maybe I just wanted to talk to you._

Percy flushed. Was Oliver interested? Going down that trail at the moment seemed like a Pandora’s box, so Percy nudged the conversation elsewhere.

**Percy:** _Fred said he talked to you about filming this weekend?_

**Oliver:** _Yeah. Do you want to drive together? I could pick you up after work on Friday. I assume you work then?_

**Percy:** _I do. We could take a train. Unless you have a vendetta against trains?_

**Oliver:** _It would be cheaper if I just drove us. And probably faster. Never mind private._

**Percy:** _You don’t have to drive all the way to Devon if you don’t want to._

**Oliver:** _I want to. Road trips are fun! We can stop at a petrol station and load up on snacks and listen to whatever music we want._

**Percy:** _All right. We can iron out the details later this week. I have to get back to work soon._

**Oliver:** _OK. Talk to you soon! I hope you like the podcast episode. :)_

Percy tried to control his imaginations from going out of control at work the rest of the day. This weekend was surely going to be interesting. Too bad it was only Tuesday.

* * *

Only the Tea with Felicity and Lee came out on Wednesdays around lunch time. This week was no exception. Percy decided to listen to the episode with Oliver on his ride home. Sometimes, he would listen to podcasts during work, but that Wednesday the conservators had an afternoon meeting. So rush hour it was. As soon as he left the castle, Percy pulled out his earbuds and queued the episode on his podcatcher.

At the top of the episode, Felicity and Lee did their usual opening banter. Felicity and Lee had an older sister-younger brother dynamic where Felicity would tease Lee and Lee would purposely annoy her. While Lee was a cannonball of full energy, Felicity was more collected. She had always been the calming force between herself, Percy, and Oliver. Very few things phased her. Felicity discussed going a farmer’s market with Audrey on Sunday. Lee called her boring. Lee complained about not seeing his boyfriend much and Felicity teased him for being needy. 

“On to the good stuff,” Felicity said after their first ad break, “If you’re living in Britain and are part of the queer community, you might have figured out who are guest this week is-“

“Or they would have seen it in the episode description, “Lee interrupted. A deep chuckle could be heard. Percy instantly recognized it as Oliver’s.

“Oh my God, stop interrupting me,” Felicity groaned, “You’re worse than my _actual_ brother.”

“I’m just pointing out the obvious.”

“Anyway, our guest this week recently came out as gay to much fanfare. He’s been very busy recently, but we were able to snag him.”

“It probably helps that we both went to secondary with him,” Lee added, “Everyone give it up for rugby player, Oliver Wood!”

Lee acted like a roaring crowd from further away from the mic. Percy could somehow _hear_ the eyeroll Felicity was undoubtedly giving him.

“Hey Oliver,” Felicity said, “We’re excited to have you here.”

“Hey Felicity, Lee,” Oliver said, “I’m excited to be here. Never miss an episode. And I’m digging the teal braids, Felicity. You look like a mermaid.”

Felicity laughed. “Thank you. I just got them done last week. The colour was Audrey’s idea.”

“From what I remember, she does love bright colours,” Oliver said.

“Am I going to get a compliment?” Lee asked, mock offended.

“Yeah, those are some wicked trainers you have on, Lee,” Oliver said.

“Thank you, Oliver!”

“For those of you listening at home, Lee has on some multicolored checkered Vans. A good standard, if I do say so myself,” Felicity said, “Lee, how many shoes do you own?”

“Too many for my radio presenter’s salary,” Lee quipped. In addition to the Instagram addiction and the Fred addiction, Lee also had a shoe addiction. Percy saw it once and he was certain it was comparable to Queen Elizabeth I’s large closet (now destroyed but oh what Percy wouldn’t give to see it…). 

Felicity, Lee, and Oliver joked around for a few more moments until Felicity steered them back on course. “So, Wood, what’s it like being out in the open for a little over a week now?”

“Um,” Oliver said, “It’s actually been a bit exhausting actually with all this press I’ve been doing, but it’s nice to finally have this weight lifted off my shoulders and finally being allowed to not be so secretive anymore.”

“Well, I’m sorry we’re just one more stop on the press tour,” Felicity said, “But we’re legitimately happy to see you.”

“Our listeners might not know this, but the three of us- well more Oliver and Felicity I’m a few years younger than them- have a bit of a history together,” Lee said.

Oliver said, “Yeah, we all went to Hogwarts for secondary. Me and Felicity were good friends. In the same year. Lived in the same dorm. Lee was also in our dorm, but like he said he was a few years younger than us.” 

“And I’m still stuck with him all these years later,” Felicity jokingly grumbled.

“Hey! I’m _delightful._ ”

“I have a question for you two,” Oliver said, “What was your thoughts when you found out I was gay? Were you surprised? Not surprised? I’ve been a bit curious about the people I know reacting.”

“I was a bit shocked to be honest,” Lee responded, “But you were like my friends’ brother’s roommate, so I didn’t know you, like, _that_ well.” 

“I wasn’t shocked,” Felicity said.

Both men made sounds of intrigue. Percy wasn’t exactly shocked that Felicity wasn’t shocked. Like her girlfriend, Felicity was observant.

“Wood. Ollie. C’mon. I love you, but if anyone was actually paying attention to you during school, like _actually_ paying attention, it shouldn’t have been surprising.”

“How?” Oliver asked.

“I’ve been into your dorm room. There was never like a sexy girly poster on the walls unlike most of the boys in our dorm. There was an entire semester where your workout jams were like 80s pop divas. You never went out with a girl. And _many girls_ asked me if you were single. Or if I was dating you. And I hinted that these girls were interested and you never picked it up or you just laughed it off or made excuses. And you never talked about girls. Other than like ‘Angelina would make a good captain for the girls’ rugby team. She has good hustle.’”

These were similar to observations Percy had made, but he figured Felicity had been more certain about Oliver’s sexuality because she didn’t have to deal with the hope of Oliver being interested in her. 

“You know what?” Oliver said, “That’s all completely fair.” 

“Can we talk for a second about that photo Felicity posted on Twitter when you came out?” Lee asked, “Because I still can’t get over it.”

“For those of you at home who don’t follow me on social media- my handle across all platforms is at Bold Felicity by the way- I posted a photo from a Halloween fancy dress dance at school circa 2011. In it, myself, Oliver, and our dear friend Percy Weasley were dressed like 80s pop stars. I was Whitney Houston, Oliver was George Michael, and Perce was Elton John. And we were just projecting our little closeted selves out to the world. Miracle we weren’t outted.”

“We worked so hard on those costumes- way more than we needed to,” Oliver said with a laugh.

“Because we were going to win that fucking costume contest that year!” Felicity said mostly lightly. People who were _not_ Percy wouldn’t hear the slight edge to her voice. Felicity did not like losing, but she could keep her competitive edge quiet. For the most part. 

“Didn’t you lose?” Lee asked.

“Shut up, Lee! I _highlighted_ Oliver’s hair. Percy like sewed bloody sequins on costumes for accuracy. And painted Oliver’s leather jacket. I spent bloody two days restyling one of my wigs. And we lost to the Spice Girls- even though Posh in that group is now my partner and yeah I love her, but we did not deserve to lose!”

“Oh god, I know!” Oliver commiserated, “I stuffed myself into those tight jeans for nothing.”

“Yeah you did,” Lee said with a slightly lecherous tone. Percy remembered seeing Oliver for the first time in those jeans and almost having a heart attack in the secondhand shop. 

“Don’t you have a boyfriend, Lee?” Felicity asked.

“Oh, please, he and I spent a good portion of that night getting tipsy underneath a table and marveling Oliver’s arse,” Lee said.

“And now you’ve made our guest uncomfortable,” Felicity said.

“It’s fine,” Oliver said honestly with a laugh. 

“I think something you two have to acknowledge is that when you let teenagers vote on shit, pretty girls in something nostalgic from their childhoods is going to beat craftmanship of paying _homage_ to some of the greatest artists of rock and roll every single time,” Lee said. He added, “No shade to the Spice Girls and Audrey and Penny who I know listen to this podcast and the other girls in that group.”

“Same,” Felicity said, “No shade to the ladies. Even if Penny wasn’t a brunette for Sporty.”

“I will give them credit for wearing those heels,” Oliver said, “Because holy shit.”

“I will say, I almost posted the photo where Professor Sprout was just fucking ecstatic for our costumes. She’s like the only one who got it _immediately_ ,” Felicity said.

Oliver cackled. “I remember that! And she told Perce ‘I’ve seen Elton in concert like twenty times.’” 

Percy chuckled under his breath. He remembered how Sprout’s just lit up when she saw their little group.

“I feel like we’re alienating our audience a little bit,” Lee said.

“How?” Felicity asked.

“Let me get to my point,” Lee said, “Percy who we’re talking about is Percy Weasley- friend of the pod- and older brother to other friends of the pod, the Weasley Twins. And who Oliver was photographed this weekend with. Percy, not the twins.”

“Oh yeah,” Oliver said, “To clarify the rumors going on, Percy is one of my closest friends from school. We were roommates-“

“Oh my god, they were roommates,” Lee interjected, quoting the famous Vine.

“Oh my god, shut it, Lee,” Felicity mocked.

“Anyway,” Oliver continued, “we lost touch after school and thanks to Felicity posting that photo, I was able to get ahold of him again. And we just went to see _Rocketman_ together and then we get to get a bite to eat afterward. Just to kind of reconnect.”

“You’re welcome by the way,” Felicity said.

“What really got me about she-who-will-not-be-named’s gossip about you and Percy, is that she inferred that Percy isn’t attractive? Like _whaaat?_ ” Lee said, “That entire family is bare minimum an English 8.”

“An English 8?” Felicity asked.

“You know how the Brits have a skewed view of, well, like _everything_. But we have let the _ugliest_ people become celebrities. Or the most average. Like Ed Sheeran really isn’t that attractive. I have list. So the Weasleys as a whole might be considered, like I don’t know, a strong 6 or 7 in America, in LA, but they’re up a few notches here. Maybe they’re a British 9? I don’t know. Like if you went to Hogwarts and were attracted to guys, you had a crush on at least one of the Weasley brothers. They’re like a boyband that way. They all have a type. Bill’s hot in like a bad-boy way, but he’s actually a guy to could take home to your mum. Charlie’s outdoors-y and ruggedly handsome. Percy’s very pretty and he’s like the cute professor you had a crush on. Fred’s like the hot class clown. Very sexy. Um, George is the same, but sweeter. Ron’s the cute boy-next-door type and he can cook. And if you’re interested in girls, Ginny’s like the cool, athletic girl but really nice.”

“I love that of all the things you could compliment Percy on- intelligence, kindness, sewing ability- you complimented his looks. But not just _his_ looks. You also had to let us know that your boyfriend is also hot,” Felicity said.

“Fine, you got me. But I still think Percy is plenty attractive! He’s got kickin’ cheekbones and some very nice wavy red hair. And he’s excellent to have at pub trivia.”

“That post made me so angry,” Oliver said, “Like first of all, saying that Percy doesn’t have anything to offer is ridiculous. We have been through a lot together. He gets me and doesn’t give a shit that I’m ‘famous’. He’s very smart-“

“He speaks at least five languages.” Felicity added.

“Exactly! Wait, seriously, five?” Olivier asked.

“You’d have to clarify with him. I know it’s somewhere around there,” Felicity said.

It was actually seven: English, French, German, Italian, Ancient Greek, Latin, and conversant in Welsh because of his mum. Most of it was for work anyway. He figured if he had to occasionally read old documents, he didn’t want to rely on incorrect translations. Besides, it was easier to talk to other museums across Europe if he could.

“Anyway, like I said, he’s very smart. And caring and helpful and like Felicity said a great sew-er,” Oliver said.

“And knitter!” Lee added, “Obviously not as good as his mum, but better than the rest of his siblings. Remember that knitting video the twins did? It was pretty bad.”

Percy was flushing at the compliments. He never took them easily. But maybe Oliver really did like him like that?

“But it’s just so ridiculous to obsess over a cinema date between friends,” Oliver said, “Like we saw a film and had a bite to eat afterwards. Just a totally normal thing for mates to do.”

Or maybe not. That stung a little, but Percy had to remind himself that he knew this was just a friends thing. No use getting his hopes up.

“But you do have to acknowledge that less than a week after you publicly came out as gay, we were seen out alone with another man. And people will talk about that and make their own assumptions,” Felicity pointed out.

“Yeah,” Lee said, “I agree with Felicity on that front. What the gossip hag said? Totally out of line. But that conclusion that you were on a date isn’t. And you two have always been cute together.”

“OK, fine. I see your point,” Oliver said, “But people also need to leave Perce alone. I feel bad because he didn’t ask for this.”

“And very ironic that we are talking about him now,” Felicity said, “So after the ad break, we’ll stop talking about him and play a game with our guest.”

“That’s right, we’re bringing back Defend. Your. Social. Media!” Lee said.

“Oh god,” Oliver sighed.

“We’ll be right back!” 

The rest of the episode was fun. Felicity and Lee roasted Oliver’s lack of social media presence but backed off a bit when Oliver discussed that being because of paranoia when he was in the closet. Oliver got to return the favor and roast Felicity and Lee. Percy knew Oliver wasn’t the best at crafting jokes, but he got a few zings in. Like Oliver mentioned, Lee practically bullied him into making an Instagram account. After all of that, Oliver’s section of the episode was done, he left, and Felicity and Lee continued on like normal. They discussed a few pop culture odds and ends until the end of the episode.

By the time Percy got home, he was very confused. Something between him and Oliver was there, right? Or was he just imagining it? Oliver said they were just mates during the podcast recording. But announcing his interest in Percy in a public forum wasn’t very Oliver. Percy’s siblings, Lee, and Audrey were supportive of a relationship between them, but they knew how Percy felt about Oliver. He wasn’t sure where Felicity stood on the topic, but she seemed to be actively trying to make him look good to Oliver. Or was just being a supportive friend. Percy hated, _hated_ being stuck in this limbo which may-or-may-not be entirely in his own head. 

Maybe this weekend would have some answers. He could certainly hope so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know if this is my best chapter, but I also feel like I needed this as a bridge piece. And I just wanted to get it out. And I've brought Lee and Felicity in! Finally! My inspiration for their show is the podcast Keep It.
> 
> Also, my inspiration for Lee's instagram is Luke Youngblood's instagram. Also general appearance. He played Lee in the films.
> 
> Thank you for reading! Kudos and Comments are greatly appreciated!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What....I'm earlier than a month.....
> 
> This chapter was originally going to be longer, but then I got to like 14 pages on my word document and I figured "Why not?". The last chapter was 10 pages and I want to keep some semblance of even-ness. 
> 
> As always, this has not been beta'd or Brit-picked, so all mistakes are my own. And I do not own these characters.

It shouldn’t have surprised Percy to see Oliver already waiting for him when he reached his home on Friday, but it nonetheless did. Oliver was maybe one of two people Percy knew that were more obsessed about being early than himself. His hatchback was parked in the street next to Percy’s building. In the front seat was Oliver, leaning back with sunglasses over his eyes. Percy couldn’t tell if his was asleep or not. He gave the car window a light rap with his knuckles. Oliver startled a bit. 

Oliver rolled down the window.

“I’m not going to let you drive if you’re going to fall asleep on me,” Percy said in lieu of a greeting.

“I was resting my eyes. The sun is bright,” Oliver said defensively.

Percy gave his friend a doubtful look. Oliver grinned. “I’ll get some energy drinks when we go to the petrol station, if that will make you happy,” Oliver said.

“I thought you don’t drink that stuff,” Percy replied.

“I said I have never and will never drink coffee. Energy drinks are more special occasion things. Like for travel. Better than fuckin’ brown sludge.”

“I’m not going to even unpack that statement,” Percy said, “I was planning on changing and still need to get my bag. You can come in if you want. Use the toilet before we get on the road or something.”

Oliver shrugged. “Yeah, sure.” Percy waited as Oliver rolled up his window and cut the engine.

“Why are you here already?” Percy asked as the two men walked in step up to Percy’s flat.

Oliver shrugged. “Wanted to get on the road as soon as possible,” he said, “I wasn’t sitting there long. Maybe five minutes? I started getting things together at your last text.”

“Ah.”

Percy unlocked the door to his flat. Xena appeared from around the kitchen counter. She gave a plaintive meow.

“Let me feed Charlie’s cat,” Percy said, “Toilet’s down the hall. First door on the left.”

“I can feed the cat,” Oliver said, “You finish getting ready. I’m good.”

Percy shrugged. “Sure, you can feed her. Food’s in the closet by the front door. She gets one scoop. Her dish is on the floor at the edge of the counter.”

He watched for a moment as Oliver moved around the flat. Satisfied that Oliver wasn’t going to screw up, Percy headed to his bedroom. He changed out of his work clothes and put on jeans and a t-shirt from the Globe. Shooting off a text to Charlie that the cat had been fed and he was leaving with Oliver, he grabbed his weekend bag and headed back to the shared living space.

He stopped in the threshold and silently watched the scene in front of him. Oliver was sitting on the kitchen floor, scratching Xena’s chin and giving her compliments. The black cat was purring at the attention. He quietly took a photo with his phone.

Percy stepped forward and said, “You’d think we don’t give her enough attention the way she’s acting.”

“You’re such a pretty kitty, you deserve all the attention in the world, don’t you?” Oliver asked the cat.

“And to think she’d been at the shelter for two months. People don’t like to adopt black cats, apparently.”

“That’s because people are superstitious tossers,” Oliver said from his position on the floor.

“Says the guy who only wore red pants on gamedays,” Percy said.

“You still remember that?” Oliver asked with a laugh.

“Yeah, because it was weird,” Percy said, “Also, I was there when you decided that wearing red underwear was lucky because you talked about it for _an hour straight_.”

Twelve year-old Percy had been very confused by this conversation. He had eventually muttered Oliver should just do whatever he wanted if meant he’d feel better and then threw a pillow at him to get him to shut up. 

Oliver laughed at Percy’s annoyance. He safely took Xena off his lap and placed her aside. “Here, help me up.” He thought for a second and added, “Please.”

While Percy doubted that Oliver actually needed help to get off the kitchen floor, he helped him anyway. Oliver’s hands were callused, but warm. Percy held them longer than what was needed. Once he realized this, the awkwardly pulled his hand away.

“You know,” Oliver said as he watched Percy grab the last of his things, “The pants thing isn’t that weird. I’ve heard- and seen- some bizarre athlete superstitions.”

“I don’t doubt you. And I don’t want to know the details.”

Oliver laughed again.

* * *

The drive to Devon wasn’t too bad. It was a bit long and a bit boring, but nothing bad happened. Oliver was a safe driver who only sped a bit and wasn’t the type to check his mobile while he drove. The entire time Oliver’s iPhone was plugged into the stereo in order to play music. 

The two young men talked for the majority of the trip. They asked each other questions about their time apart. Oliver got Percy to talk a bit more on his reasons for going into historical preservation and Percy got Oliver to talk about how he moved up in rugby. There was a lot of reminiscing about their past: the things they did that were stupid, what was fun, and things that in hindsight were signs they were gay. Percy filled Oliver in on whatever his siblings were doing. Bill was taking a class to finish out the summer term in France at a dig. According to what he told Charlie and Percy, he had to leave early before his students to finish setting up in France. The other professor was in charge of actually taking the students. Bill wanted to use his last days in England checking on the family, so he’d be at the Burrow this weekend as well. Unless something unusual happened, they wouldn’t be seeing Ron or Ginny as both were at university. Ron was about to graduate.

As the sun was setting, they pulled into a McDonald’s drive thru and grabbed something to eat. Then they continued on their way.

It was fairly late by the time they reached Devon and later still when they reached Percy’s hometown. Percy helped Oliver navigate the way to the farmland outside of town.

“That’s the Diggory farm. Cedric’s dad is our vet. Helpful that he’s right down the road,” Percy said, pointing to the house as they passed. 

“Do you know what Diggory is up to? I thought he should have gone pro,” Oliver said.

Percy thought for a moment. He’d never been close with Cedric, but they were friendly. He was pretty sure he had this conversation with his parents not too long ago. “I think he works in humanitarian aid? I know he’s abroad, but I don’t know where. My mum would probably know. Oh, there it is up on the left.”

The Burrow was hard to see in the inky darkness, but Percy knew it better than anything. It belonged to the Weasleys for generations. Looked it too. The original owner- a knighted Weasley- was gifted the land sometime in the Tudor era. He built the house for his large brood- with high ceilings and doorways for the time as he was apparently freakishly tall at 6’3”. Percy was extremely thankful for that fact. The knighted Weasley eventually got into wool production. The family kept with the house, less with the wool production as time passed. Each generation made The Burrow their own. The most recognizable changes came in the form of raising the roof for servants’ quarters in the mid 18th Century, extra room in the back of the house during the Regency, and a garage sometime in the 1940s. Sometime after WWII, the house truly began falling into disarray. The outer stonework was crumbling, the stairs creaked, the surrounding land was a mess, amongst a slew of other problems. It eventually got handed down to Arthur through one of his childless great-uncles after he passed. Arthur was his favorite great-nephew and none of Arthur’s brothers or cousins wanted the house anyway. It was just too much work. Percy’s parents loved the house despite its faults. The brought back the sheep, replanted the small, dilapidated apple orchard in the back of the property, fixed the stonework. What they didn’t pay in mortgages, they more than made up in home repair. Every time they finished something, a new problem popped up. Being the caretakers was certainly a financial burden. At least with the twins’ money, it was starting to look even better than it had been in at least a century. Maybe more.

Percy could see the outlines of the various cars in the drive. There was Arthur’s Ford, Molly’s truck, and Fred’s BMW. There was also the family car Molly refused to sell. It was an old VW bus in the ugliest avocado green color. All the Weasley kids hated taking it into town because it drew attention. Percy remembered it was a favorite topic of his primary school bullies; they called it the Christmas bus because it was green with a bunch of gingers inside. In Percy’s mind it was more 1970s psychedelia than a classic Christmas. His bullies weren’t particularly clever. 

Percy instructed Oliver where to park. They lightly argued on who got to carry their bags in the house as they both wanted to do it. Oliver argued he was a guest and that’s why he should. Percy used the same argument why Oliver _shouldn’t_. They eventually carried their own bags.

Percy didn’t bother knocking. None of the Weasleys ever did when visiting the Burrow. Besides, his parents knew the two of them were coming tonight. Before anyone could say anything when they opened the door, the two men were immediately greeted by an Old English Sheepdog running towards them. She jumped on Percy’s and wagged her tail.

“Bobbi, down,” He commanded. The dog sat down immediately. He gave her a pat on the head. “Good girl.” She wagged her tail. 

Oliver held out his hand for Bobbi to sniff. Once she seemed OK, Oliver gave her a pat too.

“Is that Percy I hear?!” Percy’s mum’s voice came from somewhere further into the house. 

“Yeah, Mum!” Percy yelled back. 

“I’m in the kitchen!”

Percy looked at Oliver and nodded his head toward the kitchen.

“I’ve been here before, Perce,” Oliver said with a laugh.

“Just giving you a reminder.”

Bobbi the dog did what she did best by herding the men toward the kitchen. Percy wasn’t sure if that’s because she knew that’s where Molly wanted them or because it was the room where Bobbi’s treat tin was stored. 

Molly and Bill were seated at the kitchen island. Fred was in the window seat in the breakfast nook. All three of them were staring at computers, but once Percy and Oliver entered the room, they all looked up.

“My Precious Percy!” Molly said as she got up from her seat and came towards them. Percy put his weekend bag down and gave his mother a hug. She smelled like vanilla and rosewater. 

“Hello, Mum.”

“Oh look at you! So handsome,” she said, “Are you and Charlie eating all right? Eating homecooked meals at least sometimes? I worry about you two sometimes.”

“Yes, mum, we do occasionally make our own dinner. We don’t rely entirely on takeout,” Percy said.

Molly surveyed her son for a moment. Satisfied that he appeared to be telling the truth, she moved on to her guest.

“Oliver Wood! Darling! I haven’t seen you in so long! What a strapping young man you’ve become. You’re even more handsome in person!” 

“Mrs. Weasley, you look just as lovely as ever.” Oliver pulled Mrs. Weasley into a hug and gave her a kiss on the cheek. 

“Oh, stop,” Molly said, “You’re just too sweet. And Molly is fine. Is your mum doing well these days?” 

“She’s fine,” Oliver said smoothly, “She actually wanted me to get your number. She wants to get back in touch.”

“Of course! Of course! Let me give you my number…”

While Molly was distracted, Bill came up to his brother and gave him a hug.

“Long time, no see, Museum Boy,” Bill said.

“And whose fault is that, Indiana Jones?” Percy asked, good naturedly, “I’m not the one living far away from everyone else in bloody York.” It had been a while since he’d seen Bill. Well, other than when George was having surgeries, but Bill was only home for a short while. It was a shame. Percy liked having Bill around. Although Bill was indefinitely cooler than Percy, they shared a love of history. Bill just liked digging in the dirt for it and Percy liked preserving it. 

“I’m a junior-level professor of archelogy. I go where the jobs are. That’s the nature of academia,” Bill said.

“Still need a ride to London? And a place to crash?” Percy asked.

“Oh, yeah, if you’re still fine with it. And Charlie. And Oliver, I guess,” Bill said.

“Huh?” Oliver looked over at them, clearly having heard his name.

“Still OK to bring Bill back with us on Sunday?” Percy asked.

“Oh, yeah! Should be loads of fun,” Oliver said. He turned back to Fred, who had been talking to him

Bill leaned into Percy and muttered, “He is a safe driver, right?”

“Mostly, yeah,” Percy said, “He’s not Ginny or Ron, that’s for sure.” Ginny and Ron were the worst drivers of the Weasley children, no argument. Ginny was a speed demon. Ron was a bit of a timid driver, which was fine for home but less fine in larger cities like London. 

“And you and Charlie are fine with me crashing in your flat for two nights?” Bill asked.

“As long as you’re fine sleeping on the sofa bed, it shouldn’t be a problem. I mean, you can try sleeping in the same bed as one of us-“

“But Charlie snores and you have been known to spread out when you sleep,” Bill finished for him, “Sofa bed is fine.”

“Oh, Percy,” Molly interrupted, “I made you and Oliver some biscuits. They’re in a tin on the stove.”

“How come I never got any biscuits?” Bill asked. 

“It’s because you’re not Mum’s favorite,” Fred yelled over everyone, “The Shadow is.”

“I do _not_ play favorites. Bill, your favorite tea is in the cupboard,“ Molly said while Percy snapped, “Don’t call me Mum’s Shadow.”

While Molly Weasley may not have played favorites with her children, it was undeniable that she and Percy had the most in common. Of her seven children, only Charlie and Percy got Molly’s red, wavy hair. Everyone else had Arthur’s coppery locks. Molly and Percy had similar personalities too: they tended to hover over their loved ones to make sure they were OK. They were bossy at times and authoritative. Mostly, Percy was Molly’s only child to have any interest in needlework. Before they left for Hogwarts, Molly made all her children learn how to sew on a button or fix a seam. Most of them could darn a sock too. It was just practical knowledge to have. Some were better at these tasks than others. Percy was the only one who enjoyed these things. While everyone else played rugby or football in the garden, Percy and Molly sat inside and sewed or knitted. Percy liked using his creativity and having a useful item to show off when he was done. The repetitive motions also helped clear his mind when he was getting anxious. 

“Percy, you’ll be in your old room. Oliver, we’re a bit full up for the moment. Bill’s in his old room. Fred is in the twins’. George is actually sleeping in the den for the moment with his bad leg and all. So you have a few options. You can either sleep in Ron’s room-“

“Terrible idea,” Fred interrupted, “It’s a pigsty in there.”

“Or Ginny’s-“

“She will kill you if she finds out you’ve touched her stuff,” Fred added. Percy watched his mother shake her head.

“Or you can sleep in Percy and Charlie’s room. Charlie’s bed is obviously free.”

Fred said nothing. But he did wink at Percy. This time Percy rolled his eyes. He knew what his brother was up to. He didn’t need a matchmaker. _Jesus Christ_. 

“Oh, I’ll just sleep with Percy. Like old times,” Oliver said politely. 

Percy watched Bill snicker out of the corner of his eyes. Fred was giving him an obvious thumbs up.

“Mum, where’s Dad?” Percy asked quickly before Fred could say anything crass.

“He’s watching telly with Georgie in the den. I’m surprised he didn’t come out to see you,” she said.

“They’re probably too engrossed in _Bake-Off_ ,” Bill said, “That’s all the two of them have been doing since dinner.”

“Georgie’s really gotten into _Bake-Off_ recently,” Fred said, grabbing a biscuit out of the tin, “Says it’s one of the few things that doesn’t make him dizzy. That and, like, Jane Austen miniseries. You know, boring shit.”

Percy glared at his brother. Fred just gave him a cheeky grin.

“Poor thing,” Molly clucked, “The concussion has really done him in.”

“Head injuries are nasty things,” Oliver agreed.

“Has his hearing gotten any better?” Percy asked.

“No,” Molly said, “We went to the doctor the other day. She thinks it’s likely permanent at this point. The eardrum is just too damaged.”

“I’ve started captioning our old videos,” Fred said, “YouTube’s automated closed captioning is shit, so it’s better if we do it ourselves.”

“How bad is his hearing?” Oliver asked.

“Right side is fine. Left ear is pretty deaf. Like he can hear a few things that are loud enough without aide, but he’s _fairly_ decent with a hearing aide,” Fred said.

“Can we check on him?” Oliver asked.

“Of course, Oliver dear! I think he’d appreciate the company,” Molly said. “Fred, no wait, _Bill_ would you mind taking the boys’ bags upstairs to Percy’s room? I don’t trust Fred.”

“Hey! I haven’t pulled a prank on Percy since the time he broke his toes! We are in an official stalemate,” Fred argued.

“What?” Oliver whispered to Percy.

“I dropped a bunch of heavy reference books on my foot after the twins jump scared me,” Percy explained, “After I went to A&E, they were officially banned from pranking me.” 

“So he’s getting out of work in case he _might_ pull something?” Bill asked.

“No, he’s helping me do the dishes where I can keep an eye on him.”

Fred groaned. 

Bill shrugged and did as his mother asked.

Percy led Oliver to the den. George was lounging in a hospital-style bed while Arthur sat on an armchair beside him. Their eyes were glued onto the television where an older season of _The Great British Bake-Off_ was playing. Once George realized he had visitors, he paused the TV.

“Percy! Oliver! So good to see you!” Arthur said as he got up and hugged Percy and shook Oliver’s hand. 

“Good to see you again Mr. Weasley,” Oliver said.

“Arthur, please. So, Oliver, I’ve seen you on telly a lot recently. How are you doing?”

As Percy noted that his dad was probably going to talk to Oliver for a good couple of minutes, he went over to his younger brother.

“Hey Georgie,” Percy said, making sure to talk loud and slow, “It looks like your hair is starting to grow back.”

The hospital had to shave George’s head to make sure there wasn’t something they had missed. Of all the problems, this is what George complained about the most. Percy hadn’t realized George cared that much about his hair.

“I still look like a shorn sheep,” George said.

“It’ll grow back,” Percy said, “Other than the hair, are you doing OK?”

“What?”

Percy repeated his question.

George shrugged. “I still get dizzy. And getting used to the hearing aide. I’ve seriously considered taking up knitting or something because I’m bored out of my bloody mind. Fred can only fill me in so such.”

“Well, I’m certain Mum can hook you up with supplies.”

“Hey, man, how are you doing?” Oliver finally came up to them.

“I’ve been better,” George said, “How are you, Wood?”

The four of them chatted for a while. Then Arthur left, saying it was near his bedtime. Bill and Fred came in and they joined the conversation. Eventually, George yawned. Finally realizing how late it actually was, Percy told everyone he was going to bed. Oliver agreed this was a good idea and they went upstairs to Percy’s old room. 

Percy and Charlie’s old bedroom was exactly how they left it. The only change was both of their overnight bags were in the room. Two twin beds were on opposite walls. The beds were covered in homemade patchwork quilts. As Percy got closer, he noticed that his mother had likely washed the sheets. Charlie’s side of the room had a few rugby posters and pennants tacked onto the walls. There was also some drawings and photographs of friends and animals. Percy’s side had a cheap recreation of one of _The Lady and the Unicorn_ tapestries on the main wall. Most things had been cleared out or donated when the brothers had moved in together. 

“I’ve always wondered how you and Charlie ended up rooming together,” Oliver said as he looked through his bag and grabbed pajama pants and a plain shirt.

“It’s a long story,” Percy said while grabbing his own pajamas. He talked with his back turned from Oliver, but occasionally looked over his shoulder, “I had roomed with Ron for a while- after he and Gin got too old to share a room- but he and I differences in cleanliness. My parents probably would have just made us deal with that, if it wasn’t for the twins _constantly_ pranking our room. My parents knew they couldn’t separate the twins lest even more havoc fell upon all of us and Ginny had to have her own room, so they kind of left the four of us to decide what we wanted to do. Ron practically pitched a fit to get his own room, so we let him have the attic room because he got hand-me-downs from of all of us. We figured he should have _something_ of his own. Bill was almost a full-on adult by that point, so he got his own room. It’s practically a closet though. I originally had it. That left Charlie and I to share a room. Considering he was already at Hogwarts and I was about to start, it wasn’t that big of a deal. And he’s more outdoorsy while I’m indoorsy. We just kind of stuck together after I was done with university because we were both planning on being in London.”

Oliver listened to Percy explain this while they both changed into pajamas. At the few peeks he got at Oliver’s body, Percy tried not to stumble over his words, but managed to keep it together. Inwardly, he was cursing Fred for putting him in this position. Yes, everything was Fred’s fault. 

“Well, that was nice of you lads to let Ron have his own room,” Oliver said, sitting on his bed.

“Don’t speak too soon. I’m also pretty sure the attic is haunted,” Percy said, finally turning around. He gave Oliver a smile. Oliver smiled back.

“I’m going to brush my teeth,” Oliver said. 

The rest of the night passed quickly. Within the hour, Percy fell asleep to the sound of Oliver’s even breaths.

* * *

It wasn’t Oliver getting up that awoke Percy the next morning. Nor was it the rooster. No, it was Fred attacking him with a pillow.

“What on Earth is wrong with you?!” Percy yelled as he shielded his face from the onslaught.

“Do you want the short list or the long list?” Fred asked before giving him a final wop, “There’s breakfast downstairs.”

“You know,” Percy said while putting on his glasses and getting up, “a normal person would just shake their brother awake.”

“Have you met anyone with siblings?” Fred asked as the two of them started heading downstairs. “Your boyfriend is on a run, by the way.”

“Not my boyfriend,” Percy grumbled.

“Then you’re an idiot for wasting the opportunity I gave you,” Fred said.

“Like a twin bed is a great place for a hookup.”

“Don’t knock it until you try it.” Fred waggled his eyebrows at him.

“Some of us aren’t tiny like you are,” Bill quipped from his place at the kitchen island.

“Hey!” Fred yelled out, offended. Then he stopped, “Wait, there is no way you could hear us.”

“ _I_ could hear the two of you, Fredilicious,” George said from his spot at the kitchen table, “You two aren’t known for indoor voices.”

Fred stuck his tongue out at his twin. George aped him. Bill rolled his eyes as he put down bowls of porridge. He continued setting down plates of toast and bacon, mugs, and a teapot of Earl Grey.

As the four brothers began to eat, Percy asked, “Mum went to the shop?”

“Yeah,” Bill said, “And Dad’s over at the Diggory’s to deliver some eggs or something.”

“What are you doing today while I film with the love birds?” Fred asked. He gave Percy a wink, who in turn rolled his eyes.

“Well, Dad is taking me into town. I’m going to get a haircut,” Bill said.

“Really?”

“What? No!!!”

“Are you shitting me?!”

Bill looked at his three brothers with confusion. “Why is this so big a deal?”

“You have longer hair than Gin! You’ve been growing it out forever!” George whined.

“We wanted to see if you could get it long enough that we could climb it, like Rapunzel,” Fred said.

Percy looked at Fred like he had grown a second head. _Certainly he wasn’t serious._ But it was also Fred, so maybe he was.

“It’s become a hassle,” Bill said electing to ignore the older twin, “I get, like, dirt in it on digs. It’s really heavy too.”

Percy didn’t doubt that. Bill had very thick hair. “How short are you going?” he asked.

“Like early series Jon Snow. Pretty much chin-length.” 

“Don’t mention that show to me,” Fred snarled, “The ending was the _worst.”_

The four of them got worked up rehashing the recent _Game of Thrones_ finale. All of them hated it. George didn’t have to ask anyone to repeat themselves once because they were so loud. 

The appearance of Oliver into the kitchen got them to shut up. Percy was aware that he was probably staring, but his brain was short-circuiting. Oliver was wearing running shorts and a vest and glistening with sweat which was drawing attention to his muscles. He had on an armband to hold his iPhone. The sound of alternative rock could be heard coming out his earbuds. Oliver nodded to the four Weasleys as he grabbed a glass of water and chugged it down. He then sidled up next to Percy, stole one of his pieces of toast, and winked at him before heading upstairs. Percy was certain he was blushing and refused to look at his brothers. 

“Well, that just happened,” Bill said to no one in particular.

“Jesus Christ, Perce, you two should just shag already and save the rest of us from having to watch your shitty flirting,” Fred said.

George threw a piece of toast at Percy. 

“I hate all of you right now,” Percy sighed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was that? It's fun to write the Weasley-sibling dynamic. 
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated. Happy Holidays to everyone in case I don't post before the end of the year.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! I am hoping to keep up with this once a month posting schedule, but I will be directing a play in the coming months, so it may get a bit fuzzy. I will try my best though!
> 
> Thank you all for all of your support! I really hope you like this chapter.
> 
> As always, I do not own any of these characters and this has not been beta'd or Brit-picked, so all mistakes are my own.

“Hi. I’m Percy Weasley and… ugh, no, I forgot.”

“Try again,” Fred said from behind the camera.

“Hello! Nope. That sounded odd.”

Fred sighed. “Again.”

“Hi. What am I doing with my hands?”

“Jesus Christ. _Seriously_?!” Fred threw up his hands in frustration.

“This isn’t natural for me! I don’t exactly introduce myself on camera every day!” Percy argued.

“Well get used to it! We only have two days to film three videos!”

Although he loved his brothers, Percy didn’t exactly love _filming_ with his brothers. The twins were perfectionists when it came to their videos. Percy understood _why_ : it was their livelihood. They did everything themselves except for their occasional videographer/editor/extra set of hands around, Verity, but she was working on other things and couldn’t make it to Devon every week to help. Fred was obviously stressed with having George out of commission for who knew how long. But at the same time, Percy wasn’t exactly a natural on camera. He tended to overthink in general but being on camera multiplied that issue. Potentially millions of people could be watching. 

Percy had a few reasons why he even agreed to film with his brothers. One was pride. He’d rather work for the money they give him than taking handouts from them. Second was financial benefits. Yes, it was mercenary, but living in the London metropolitan area was expensive. So, so expensive. His salary could only go so far. Third was to keep an eye on them. It’s not that Percy didn’t trust his brothers, but he figured if he could have an input on what they made, the less likely they were to turn into hypebeast influencer monsters. The twins could be a force for good when they wanted to and at least they had more talent than the average YouTube star. The final reason it that Percy sometimes enjoyed filming with them. The twins could be fun. He would just never tell them that. 

Today, however, they had been filming for less than an hour and Percy and Fred were already about to kill each other. It didn’t help that Percy had to be vulnerable. On camera. For potentially millions of viewers. When Fred had pitched the idea of his various friends and family members telling their coming out stories, Percy had been hesitant but willing because of the good it could do. Now in the moment, it was nerve-wracking. 

“Guys! Stop it!” Oliver barked from his spot in the corner near George. He strode to the middle of the action like the leader he was. “Fred collect yourself for a moment. You’re stressing him out.” Fred grumbled, but went to the corner where his twin was sitting of the small studio in the transformed garage. 

Oliver carefully sat next to Percy on the sofa as to not startle him. “Hey Percy, look at me,” Oliver ordered softly, “You’re doing fine. Breathe with me for a moment. Deep breath in. Out. In. Don’t breathe from your shoulders- that’s not a relaxing breath- focus on the diaphragm. That’s better. Out. A few more times.” Percy followed Oliver’s directions. “Good?”

“Good. Thanks,” Percy said. Oliver smiled at him and gave his shoulder a squeeze.

“So new idea from George,” Fred said, appearing calmer. “Instead of fully solo stuff, we’re going to try it as an interview-conversation. I think it will be a lot more natural, so Perce won’t look so wooden. Wood, you’ll interview Percy. And I’ll interview you or Percy will. We’ll play by ear.”

“I heard that!” George yelled.

“It’s a music-based expression!” Fred yelled, not bothering to look at George. He addressed Percy and Oliver again, “I’m going to adjust the frame. Again. Just… sit there. It’s fine. Totally fine. I’m fine. An hour of set up just down the toilet.”

“Why don’t I believe him?” Oliver leaned into Percy and whispered.

“He’ll get over it,” Percy said, “Fred just gets stressed about this sometimes. I think this set up is for the better, honestly.”

Eventually, Fred finished setting up. Percy tried to offer assistance, but Fred shooed him away. He put a mic on Oliver and gave the two of them instructions on how the video should go.

“Recording now. Start when you’re ready,” Fred said.

“Hello. My name is Oliver Wood. In case you don’t know me- and most likely you don’t- I am a gay pro rugby player. I am filling in for Fred and George in this video. Instead of the usual Weasley twin shenanigans, I’m going to be asking their brother Percy a few questions in honor of Pride Month. Percy is also gay. Hi Percy.” Oliver was a bit stiff, but still seemed friendly.

“Hi Oliver. I feel like that was the weirdest introduction on this channel,” Percy teased.

“I should specify that we were asked to do this,” Oliver said turning to face the camera a bit more, “We didn’t just sneak into the garage and steal their equipment. The twins are literally behind the camera.”

“More Fred than George,” Percy clarified, “George is in the room, but in the corner and on like anti-nausea medication. He’s improving for anyone who has been asking. Still not camera-ready, but he’s working on it. Thank you everyone for your concern.”

“And there is a reason that I am here talking with you. We have known each other basically forever. Went to school together and were roommates and friends in school,” Oliver said.

“Yes, we’ve known each other for around 14 years,” Percy agreed.

“Wait, has it seriously been that long?” Oliver looked and sounded a bit shocked.

“Yeah, we met when we were like eleven, remember?”

Oliver relaxed in his seat a bit. “Huh. I guess you’re right. Fourteen years just sounds like a really long time. It makes me feel a bit old, I guess? I feel like Fred should add a photo of us when we were kids for like proof.”

“You’re asking for trouble. He will pick the _worst_ photo.” Percy was at least partially serious with that statement. Fred absolutely would pick an awkward photo from their preteen years just to embarrass them. 

“Oh, they can’t be too bad. We were cute kids,” Oliver waved Percy off. They were both loosing up as they filmed. 

“Ollie, I was a twig and basically all limbs. And you had a buzz cut. It didn’t work for you.” It had taken months for Percy to realize Oliver had really lovely thick hair because it had been shorn so short. 

“I remember that wasn’t my choice,” Oliver said in his defense, “I think my parents’ idea was that if I went to school with really short hair, it wouldn’t be too long by the time break rolled around? Because they surely didn’t trust me with my own hair.”

“Probably the right decision,” Percy joked.

“But they didn’t count on the fact that it looked terrible on me.”

“It was bad,” Percy agreed.

“I hadn’t like grown into my ears yet?” He made a gesture to indicate how big his ears were. Oliver spared a glance towards the camera, grimaced, and continued, “And now I see that Fred looks annoyed, so we’re going to continue onwards. So, Perce, to kind of ease ourselves into it, who was your first celebrity crush when you were a kid?”

Percy answered immediately, “Oh, Gene Kelly.”

“I love that you had the answer just right away,” Oliver said with a chuckle.

Percy unthinkingly scooted closer to Oliver. “I was obsessed with him when I was a kid. I saw _Singin’ in the Rain_ when I was like seven and had to tell everyone who would possibly listen how great it was for like a week. It’s still one of my comfort films.”

“It’s so good,” Oliver agreed, “Lina Lamont is my favorite character-“

“Oh, she’s great.”

“She is just s _o_ stupid and _so_ petty. She makes me laugh every time.”

“That voice! That scene in the voice lesson! ‘I can’t stan’ ‘im,” Percy did his best imitation of Lina’s nasally American voice. It was not good.

Oliver gave a hearty laugh. He also tried the voice “I can’t stan’ ‘im!” It was also bad.

The two of them cracked up some more. Oliver was practically laying down on the sofa. Once they gained their breath again, Oliver said, “Oh, and Gene Kelly is very fit.”

“Oh, for sure. He’s very handsome and charming. And such a good dancer. Did you know he did the ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ number with a fever?”

“No way, really?”

Percy nodded. He decided to ask a question of his own, “Who was yours?”

“My childhood celebrity crush?” Oliver asked.

“Yeah.”

“How much would you judge me if I said Orlando Bloom as Legolas in _Lord of the Rings_?” Oliver asked.

Percy’s giggles were back. He leaned over and gripped Oliver’s arm. “Oh my God!”

“I just thought he was cool! And pretty. And David Tennant as the Doctor was my second one,” Oliver added with an embarrassed laugh.

Percy got a bit of his breath back and pulled his arm away. “I love how you have convinced people that you’re really bloody cool and you’re just the biggest dork I know.”

“I haven’t convinced people that I’m cool! They all just assumed! I have no idea why!” Oliver was legitimately confused.

“It’s because you are an attractive sports star,” Percy explained, “So you can’t possibly be odd.”

“Yeah, it’s very weird,” Oliver said, “But before Fred kills us with the strength of his eye roll, when did you first realize you’re gay?”

“It’s difficult to say,” Percy said, calming down, “Because I’ve always known I was different. When I was a boy I liked sewing and knitting and I didn’t care for playing sport. Didn’t care for getting too dirty. That’s not to say you have to like traditionally ‘feminine’ things to be gay- you’re clearly an example of that-“

“I do like some traditionally ‘feminine’ or ‘gay’ things, but I get your point,” Oliver said.

“But that was just my life. And as early as primary school, some kids picked up on my differences and made fun of me for it. I was called a fairy and things like that.”

“Oh shit.”

“That’s why I was so hesitant when we first met- I was scared of you because you looked like my primary school bullies,” Percy said. When he first met Oliver and found out that they were rooming together, he didn’t know what to do with him. His hair was buzzed short, he was a stocky kid, and didn’t shut up about rugby. Percy had also picked up on Mr. Wood’s slight look of distaste of Percy’s large family helping him unpack. The younger kids had been running around between their three older brothers’ rooms while Percy’s mum fussed over him.

“I’m sorry. I never meant to scare you. I didn’t even pick up you _were_ scared. I thought you were just shy,” Oliver said, “What changed your mind about me?”

“It was that day I found you in our room and you looked like you had been crying and I offered you-“

“You offered me a homemade biscuit from the tin your mum sent you. And you talked about how much you missed the farm. I remember that. That’s what kind of broke our awkwardness,” Oliver said with a smile.

“And you had been nothing but nice to me up to that point- maybe a bit awkward at talking- and you didn’t laugh when I mentioned knitting at that moment, so I decided to give you a chance. And now I’m stuck with you.” Percy leaned over and tried to ruffle Oliver’s hair, but Oliver fought him off, laughing all the way. Percy sat back down. “Anyway, I started to think that I might be interested in other blokes when I was like thirteen or fourteen? There wasn’t like an ‘a-ha’ moment, it was just an undercurrent. But when Penelope asked me out, I decided to give women a shot just to see if I was wrong. Maybe deep down- or maybe not deep down because I was terrified- I wanted to have that smoke screen to others that ‘see I’m normal’, you know?”

“Don’t look at the man behind the curtain?” Oliver asked.

“Exactly. And that clearly didn’t work out. She realized she’s gay. I started to internally admit to myself that I’m gay.”

“Who was the first person you told?” Oliver asked.

“You know the answer to that, Ollie,” Percy said.

“I know, but they don’t. Please set the scene,” Oliver said.

Percy adjusted himself so he was angled more towards the camera, “So one of our- mine and Oliver’s- end-of-term traditions was to watch a film together the night before we were to leave for holiday-“

“It was usually a really old film. We had this like tiny telly in our room and a kind of shitty DVD player and we would sit together in one of our beds and borrow DVDs from the library, but we did own a few too,” Oliver explained.

“So it was right before Christmas holiday our last year of school and we were watching- God this is super cliché-“

“We were watching _The Wizard of Oz_ ,” Oliver prompted.

“Yes, we were watching that and during the end I just started bawling. Truly ugly sobs.”

“I had no idea what was going on and I was so concerned. You told me that you had something to tell me. I thought you were dying! You had been acting strange that whole week-”

“I wasn’t even planning on telling you then!” Percy exclaimed, “It just came out! I said something like ‘I’m gay and I want to tell my family, but I’m so scared to.’ The whole ‘There’s no place like home’ thing just hit me like a train.”

“And we cried on my bed for like twenty minutes,” Oliver added, “It was a very emotional time.”

“But you kept reminding me that my family would accept me and if they didn’t you’d, you’d be there for me,” Percy said, a little teary-eyed. 

Oliver reached over and squeezed his hand. He was a bit misty too. “I was right, wasn’t I?”

Percy wiped his eyes. “Yeah,” he said, “I told everyone at Christmas dinner and there was, like, no big reaction. I was expecting it to be a lot more dramatic than it was? Like my parents told me that they loved and accepted me, but some of my brothers were like ‘yeah, we know.’”

“Ron was a bit confused,” Fred said from behind the camera, “But he’s always a bit confused.”

“That’s true. He got over it pretty quickly though,” Percy said with a shrug. 

“Yeah, Ron was like ‘But you dated a girl!’ and someone was like ‘First of all, bisexual people exist’ and Perce was like ‘I was trying to figure things out’,” Fred said.

“He was also, like, thirteen at the time,” Percy said, “He was honestly more confused when you came out, Fred.”

“Well, everyone was surprised there. But that’s a story for another video.”

“I guess to round out this video, Percy what do you want to say to those out there struggling with their identities?”

Percy thought for a moment. He noticed Fred signaling that he should face the camera head on, so he did. “I guess I’d like to say: you are not alone. Throughout history there have been _millions_ of people who are either currently going through questioning their sexuality or gender or have already gone through it. I have. Oliver has. Fred has. It’s perfectly normal. If you’re having problems, there are resources out there. People want to help you. We are extremely fortunate to live in a time that there is more widespread acceptance of the queer community than ever before, but that doesn’t mean there still aren’t problems. We need to support and love each other, learn our history, and stand up to make tomorrow even better.”

There was a moment of silence and then Oliver said, “Thank you, Percy.” He seemed a bit chocked up. 

“Thank you, Ollie,” Percy said and gave Oliver’s hand a squeeze.

“Hug?” Oliver offered with his arms wide.

“Yeah, come here you big lummox,” Percy said with a nod of his head. Oliver practically tackled him and Percy wrapped his arms around Oliver.

Fred spoke up, “Yeah, I think that’s a good end to that. I can just add any call to action stuff during the credits.” He acted like he was itching near his eye, but Percy could hear the unmistakable waiver in his voice.

“How are you so good at speaking?” Oliver muttered into Percy’s neck. He was still holding on to Percy. 

“Practice,” Percy said, “And not to ruin this moment, but you’re squeezing just a bit too hard.”

Oliver carefully extracted himself. “Oh, shit, sorry,” he said sheepishly.

“It’s all right,” Percy said.

Fred walked over to them. “So what if I said that I hadn’t actually hit record?” he asked.

Percy was sure the color had drained from his face. Oliver looked panicked. 

“Shut up,” Percy said.

Fred stared at them for a moment then burst into laughter. “Oh my God, you should see your faces!”

Oliver whacked Fred with a throw pillow hard enough that he sank down into the floor. Percy took his own throw pillow and hit Fred with it too. If Fred was hurt, he didn’t show it; he was giggling like a maniac on the floor.

“Don’t do that to us! _Jesus_!” Oliver grumbled as he sank back into the sofa.

“What’s going on?” George asks as he limped over to the three of them, his crutches making an undeniable thud with each movement. Percy scooted closer to Oliver, so George could take a seat. Fred was lounging on the floor.

“ _Your brother,”_ Percy loudly said with disdain, “thought it would be funny to tell us that he forgot to press record after having a very emotional recording session.” 

“Ah,” George said. He used one of his crutches to lightly tap on Fred’s foot. “Crossed a line, mate,” he said.

“Ugh, fine,” Fred groaned, “I’m sorry for freaking you two out. It was a good session and I liked it a lot. I’m going to make sure the sound is OK and that we won’t have to do any reshoots.” He got up, grabbed his camera and a headset, and sat in the corner chair.

“That was weird,” Percy noted to no one in particular. He took off his mic and prompted Oliver to do the same.

“Eh,” George said, “We’ve been working on being nicer to everyone. Mum’s chewed us out for it enough times as it is. We’ve made a pact not to turn to the Dark Side.”

“Have people been bothering you again?” Percy asked. Through littered conversations, Percy had heard that someone or multiple someones had been sniffing around to get a hot scoop on George’s recovery. Whether it was television people, fellow YouTubers, or a mix of both, he had no idea.

“Yeah…” George just sighed, “The only one I’m even remotely considering is from an anti-drunk driving group for a PSA around the UK. And not until I get better.”

“Rest is important,” Oliver said.

“I think instead of being here with you guys this afternoon, I’m just going to take a nap,” George said.

“That sounds like a plan,” Percy said and patted George’s hand.

“And in case anyone wants my opinion, I think you should lead the interview with Wood, Perce. I couldn’t hear well, but you two have good chemistry. I mean, obviously, but still,” George said.

“Thank you, but you should probably be the one to tell Freddy that,” Percy said.

“Yeah, it will probably give more weight coming from you,” Oliver added.

“All right,” George said, “I’m hungry. Is it lunch yet?”

Percy checked his watch. “Yeah. Thereabouts.” 

“Hey Fred!” Oliver yelled, “Can we stop for lunch?!”

“Yeah, go on ahead. I’ll be there in a moment!” Fred said.

The three of them chatted while they headed toward the kitchen. Oliver handled the doors. 

“Dad?! Bill?! Are you back yet?!” George yelled out once they got into the kitchen. Silence followed. 

“Well, that answers that,” Percy said. 

Oliver clapped his hands together and said, “So what do we have to eat around here?”

“I’m sure there’s stuff for sandwiches and stuff around here. Crisps probably as well,” George said.

As Oliver began to rifle through the cabinets, Bobbi’s barks could be heard from outside. Then, there was the sound of a car door slamming. The front door opened.

“Boys! We come bearing libations! And food!” Mr. Weasley shouted. 

“Dad, they’re probably in the garage filming,” Bill’s voice could be heard saying. 

“We’re in the kitchen!” Percy yelled out.

Mr. Weasley and Bill came into the kitchen carrying bags of food. Percy recognized some of it as groceries, but others appeared to be carryout. It definitely smelled like curry.

“Hello boys! We brought some Pakistani food home! I hope that’s all right. It’s a bit of a spread. Several different types of biryani. Some curry. Some kebabs. It’s a lot, but I figured we could use some of them for leftovers. Georgie, I know you and Freddy must be getting sick of sandwiches and stuff like that when your mum and I are working,” Arthur Weasley said while unbagging the food. He looked around the assembled group and realized someone was missing, “Where is Freddy?”

Before anyone could explain, Fred yelled out, “Here! I was finishing up in the garage. Good news, no need to do any reshoots. We’ll just move on to the second vid after lunch.” Fred stopped talking for a moment and noticed Bill, “Ooh. Bill actually has product in his hair. Never thought I’d see the day.”

“Yeah, I’m going to try it. God help me if I turn into you two vain peacocks,” Bill said playing with his new short hair. 

“How dare you say such hurtful things about our guest!” Fred said with mock outrage, “Feel free to keep Percy’s ego down though.”

Percy took a break from scooping out some chicken biryani. “How did I get dragged into this?” he asked in exasperation, “I barely use any product anymore. George is the one that cried when he had to shave his head.”

“One, Angelina likes to play with it,” George said. 

“Oh, so _that’s why…”_ Fred snickered.

George didn’t make any indication he heard what his twin had said (maybe he hadn’t) and continued onward. “Second, are we going to pretend Bill isn’t the most image obsessed of all of us? He dresses like a mix of a 70s rock star and Indiana Jones. It’s weird.”

If anyone had bothered to look at the end of the counter, they would have noticed Mr. Weasley quietly take his plate of food and a soft drink into the den as to avoid the ensuing argument. 

“It’s like slightly more grunge,” Percy noted, “He is wearing destressed jeans right now.”

“I like how his new haircut shows off his earring,” Oliver said. 

“Do you dress like that to work?” Fred asked, drowning out Bill’s thanks to Oliver, “You are a professor, sir, a professor!”

The roasting of everyone’s fashion choices followed for all of lunch. 

“Percy, how many cardigans do you own? You dress like a granddad.”

“Just because an item of clothing has a logo on it, doesn’t make it a good design.”

“Bill, how many scarves is too many scarves? Because I think you’ve found that number.”

Once they were done eating and mocking each other, George went back to the den to take a nap. Mr. Weasley made an appearance to put away groceries and all the leftovers. He claimed that afterwards, he was going to check on the sheep. Citing boredom, Bill decided to watch Percy and Oliver record Oliver’s interview. 

“Ya know, Billy, I can always record a video with you. My followers are dying to know what you look like,” Fred said.

Bill snorted and said, “I’m not going on camera.”

In the entirety of the twins’ stint into online fame, Bill had never appeared on camera. At first, it was a result of him being away all the time. But when asked, Bill refused. It was a mix of him not caring and not wanting the twins’ weird fans to sign up for his classes. Which, in Percy’s mind, was fair. Fred and George found it funny than anything else and ran with it. They turned Bill into a mythological figure in their videos. They only mentioned Bill’s weird stories, most of which were actually real, but some were made up. When people asked why he didn’t appear on camera, they usually claimed something in the vain of he was so hot the camera would break or that he was wanted by MI-6. Just something silly. In family photos posted to their official social media accounts, Bill’s face would be covered or he would be cropped out entirely. Some fans were able to find pictures of Bill online- it wasn’t exactly hard- but most of them participated in the joke anyway.

Set up was much faster the second time around. Most things had stayed up from earlier that morning. Fred just had to readjust the camera while Percy and Oliver had to put their mics back on. Once Fred gave them the go-ahead, they took off running.

“Hello, I’m Fred and George’s older brother Percy. This is the second part of a discussion with our family friend Oliver Wood. In part one, I answered the questions. This time it’s Oliver’s turn,” Percy said. He hated intros. God, he sounded like a prat.

“Oh, how the tables have turned,” Oliver said.

“Shouldn’t that be my line?” Percy asked, “I’m the one asking you questions.”

Oliver shrugged. “I don’t know, probably.”

They shared a glance. Both of them burst into giggles.

“Why are we _like this_?” Percy asked, “We have had plenty of normal conversations in the past few weeks.”

“I think it’s the whole ‘being on camera thing’,” Oliver said.

“You might be right.” Percy took a few deep breaths. “OK. I suppose my first question is when did you realize you are gay?”

“I always wish I had a better answer to this question, ya know?” Oliver said, “Because I got so far into puberty and didn’t even think about relationships. I was just so focused on rugby. Eventually, I noticed I would like notice other boys and be interested and started thinking maybe I could be gay and that _terrified_ me. Because there hasn’t been many professional athletes that are out. Especially in sports like rugby. And I was scared of what everyone would think.”

“So you were in the closet for years? No one knew?”

“Oh absolutely no one knew.”

“Did you ever have a beard or go on dates with women to kind of distract people?” Percy asked. This is something they hadn’t discussed. He knew that some celebrities probably did that. He did it too.

Oliver shifted in his seat. “I never did that. There were times I was tempted, but I was never really comfortable with the idea. I’m not the best at lying, so it didn’t seem like an option? Luckily, when I was asked if I was dating someone, I would say that I was too busy and that I’m focusing on my career. Which was true. I basically eat, drank, and slept rugby for years. I think most people assumed I was just sleeping around, you know?”

“How did you get to this point where you’re comfortable being out?” Percy asked.

“Basically years of therapy,” Oliver said, “I know we don’t talk about mental health a lot in the UK and we definitely need to. I was just depressed for so long and I was encouraged- it was my mum actually- to get help. She didn’t know why exactly I was depressed, but she knew something was wrong. And it took years of work but I decided that I was tired of hiding and not being fully myself. It was a risk for my career, but it was one I was willing take for my personal happiness.”

“What is even the process of having such a public coming out? Like did your coach know before hand? Your team? Because I have absolutely no frame of reference.”

“Totally,” Oliver said, “So my therapist was the first person I’d ever come out to. That was like a few years ago. And eventually, when I decided I wanted to be out publicly, we came up with a plan that we kind of made it up on the spot. I wanted to tell my family first and I did- it wasn’t the way I planned though-“

“How come?” Percy asked. He knew the answer, but he was doing it for the benefit for the people at home.

“Well, I originally was going to make a big announcement for my parents, but during Christmas dinner my mum was trying to get me on a date with one of her like coworker’s daughters and I just blurted it out. My mum took it pretty well, considering.”

Percy noted Oliver didn’t mention his dad but didn’t say anything about it. “Who did you tell next?”

“My management team. That was a fun conversation, let me tell you,” Oliver said with an eye roll, “There were _so many_ questions, but they ultimately helped me solidify my plan. Then it was my coaches, then my team, and then the public. The magazine was in there somewhere.”

“Did it go well?” Percy asked.

“I think it has. A lot of my teammates were surprised. Most of them were pretty OK with it and there were a lot of apologies.”

“For what?”

“Vaguely homophobic things people have said in the past. Or just general crude behavior.”

“How have you enjoyed being out publicly so far?” Percy asked.

“Oh, it’s been brilliant,” Oliver said, “OK, having to do press isn’t all that great. I don’t love attention on me, but I figure if I could show the world, the country, especially kids that it’s perfectly normal to be gay, it’s worth it. But one of the best parts of being out is getting back in contact with all my old friends, especially you Perce. I should have never lost touch with you. And Felicity. And Audrey. And so many other wonderful, wonderful people. I didn’t realize what sort of support system I had until I didn’t have it anymore.”

“Ollie, if I had known what you were going through…” Percy started.

“No, no, it’s not your fault,” Oliver said while grabbing on of Percy’s hands, “You didn’t know. And I was just too focused on my own stupid agenda that I didn’t see what was really important.”

“You were distracting yourself,” Percy said. He had known Oliver for years; it’s what he did.

“Yeah, probably.” Oliver seemed to realize that he was still holding Percy’s hand and left go. He ran a hand through his hair.

“So what’s next for you?” Percy asked to steer the conversation back on track. Percy didn’t want to get more emotional on camera.

“I don’t know,” Oliver said, “I’m excited for my first Pride, I can tell you that.”

“Are you going to be on a float?” Percy teased.

“I think there’s been a discussion between my agent and some people? I know there’s been some offers, but it’s also really late in the game, so we’ll see.”

“How about a party?” Percy asked.

“Oh, that’s more likely to happen, even if I’m not the most sociable bloke,” Oliver said, “You’ll be invited, don’t worry.”

“I’m glad you’re out for Pride too. That means I’m won’t be third-wheeling the entire time,” Percy said. Only part of that was a joke.

“I can imagine. Who’s worse: Audrey and Felicity or Fred and Lee?” Oliver asked with a laugh.

“They’re both pretty bad in their own unique ways. The girls can be a bit mushy and Fred and Lee snog a lot.”

“Does Charlie not go?” Oliver asked.

“Charlie will go to the parade and then he’s done,” Percy said, “He’s not into crowds.”

“That sounds like Charlie,” Oliver joked.

Oliver and Percy shared a smile. After a moment, Percy gave a little cough out of awkwardness. “Is there anything you’d like to say to the people watching?”

“Yeah,” Oliver said turning more towards the camera, “It’s never too late to put yourself out there. Whether you’re 15 or 25 or 55 or 85. And this doesn’t just apply to coming out. Sometimes you just got to take a shot at your dreams. You never know what’s going to happen and life is short.”

Oliver smiled at Percy again.

“Thanks for doing this today, Ollie.”

“Thank you for being here, Percy.”

Percy turned toward the camera, “And on behalf on my brothers, thank you for watching!”

“Bye,” the both said to the camera at the same time.

“And cut,” Fred said, “Well, that was way more professional than the last one, but it’s fine. I’m going to play it back and I’ll tell you what I think. Just hang back.” 

“Was that bad?” Percy asked his friend.

“I thought it was good,” Oliver said.

“I’m just not a natural interviewer,” Percy said, “You interviewing me was a lot better. That was more of a conversation.”

“It wasn’t bad,” Bill said while coming up to them.

“Thanks for that ringing endorsement,” Percy said.

“If it sucked, I would have told you,” Bill pointed out.

“You just have a different style, that’s all,” Oliver said, “And I have a more quote unquote serious coming out story. It involved a lot of logistics and planning and yelling and stubbornness. Like I’m glad I’m out, but it was so much work.”

“Who yelled at you?” Percy asked, tense.

“Take a guess,” Oliver said dryly, “Well, actually it was more than one person. My manager was a tougher sell than my agent, surprisingly.” 

The three of them talked a bit more until Fred came back and told them the video was fine. The next morning, they were going to record a Q & A video, so Fred gave Percy and Oliver instructions to look over the hashtag he made earlier in the week and pick five to ten questions that they would like to ask. They would go over the questions later in the evening to agree on final choices.

As they had the rest of the afternoon free, Oliver asked Percy if they could visit Mrs. Weasley at her shop and maybe bring her some tea. Molly was delighted to see them and almost cried. 

Once they two young men were back at The Burrow, Oliver followed Percy around the farm as Percy checked on the sheep and the chickens. They spent the time talking and joking. Percy liked how domestic it was. He was probably getting his hopes up, but he was certain Oliver felt it too. 

Dinner was fairly casual. Molly brought home pizza, but she still made everyone eat at the table. Percy’s parents asked questions of Oliver and Oliver wanted to know everyone’s recent goings-on. It was pleasant all around even if Fred and George made jokes about everything. 

With all the chaos of the day done, The Burrow had eased into a relative quiet. Percy’s parents had retired to their bedroom for the night. George was in the den having a FaceTime chat his girlfriend. Fred was doing something in his room. At the very least, he had waved off Percy, Oliver, and Bill’s invitation to sit with them in the living room. Some panel show was on the television, but none of them were paying much attention to it. Bill was studying some paperwork related to his trip. Percy and Oliver were sharing a sofa. Oliver read his Kindle while Percy sketched out an embroidery design. Sitting perpendicular to each other with Percy’s feet on Oliver’s lap, Oliver absentmindedly stroked Percy’s bare ankles. It felt nice. 

The quiet was ruined when Oliver’s phone rang. He swore, noting it was from his agent and went outside to take it. The two brothers idly conversed about Bill’s upcoming trip for around twenty minutes when Oliver burst back into the house. He didn’t make eye contact with anyone and stomped up the stairs.

Bill looked over to his brother, concerned. “That didn’t look good,” he noted.

Percy put his feet on the floor and looked up the stairs. “No. It didn’t,” he responded. He turned back to his brother, “Should I go check on him?”

“That seems like a good idea,” Bill said.

Percy put his sketchbook on the coffee table. “I’m going to give him a minute and then I’ll go up.”

After a few minutes, Percy slowly headed up the stairs and went to his old bedroom. He tapped on the door and when he jiggled the handle, the door opened.

“Hey. Are you okay? You kind of rushed up here-” The words died coming out of Percy’s lips as he noticed Oliver’s shirtlessness as he laid on Charlie’s bed. It was the first time Percy had personally seen Oliver shirtless in years. God, he was fit. Why was he up here? Oh, yeah, Oliver kind of ran upstairs after taking a phone call. Percy internally cursed his libido from distracting him from his friend’s problems. Percy quietly closed and locked the door and sat on his own bed.

“Oh, um, yeah, I guess,” Oliver said, “My agent said he got an offer from one of those blind date television shows.”

Percy tried to ignore the pit that was forming in his stomach. “Oh? I don’t know if that sounds like you but I wouldn’t-”

“Can I tell you a secret?” Oliver interrupted.

Percy blinked back his surprise. “Of course,” he said, “You know you can tell me anything.”

Oliver sat up. “Um, ok, no one really knows this,” he leaned in closer to Percy and whispered, “I’ve never had sex before.”

Percy could feel his face flush a bit. This wasn’t where he expected this conversation to go, but Oliver’s virginity wasn’t exactly surprising. He was in the closet for a very long time and, from what Percy gathered, was very paranoid about it. “That’s perfectly normal,” Percy reassured, “It’s not like they’re going to auction off your virginity or anything-”

“And I’ve never been kissed,” Oliver said, “Can you imagine being in your mid-twenties and not having your first kiss? I’d look like a fool on there.”

“I thought you kissed that girl back at home when you were fourteen,” Percy said. He swore that’s what Oliver told him when he started dating Penny.

“What? Oh, that’s a lie I told people to have them leave me alone.” Oliver bit his lip in nervousness. God, it made his pout even lovelier.

What Percy said next was possibly the dumbest thing he could say: “Well, I can kiss you.”

The air was still between them for a moment. In fact, it may have been sucked out of the room. It felt like years. “Really?” Oliver asked.

“Yeah, what’s a kiss between friends?” Percy was playing nonchalant, but his insides were screaming “Danger! Danger! Danger!” 

Oliver seemed to consider this for a moment. “Yeah, okay,” he said breathless.

Oliver’s beautiful hazel eyes followed him as he walked over and sat on the bed. Oliver moved very quickly as he grabbed Percy’s shirt and greedily pressed their lips together. It was very sloppy with Oliver practically shoving his tongue in Percy’s mouth.

“Woah,” Percy said pushing Oliver slightly away, “Too much, too fast.” Oliver nodded. Percy lightly kissed one of the corners of Oliver’s lips. “Slowly.” He kissed the other side. “Tongue is a garnish, not a main ingredient, yeah?” Oliver nodded again. His eyes were focused on Percy’s lips. Percy pressed them to Oliver’s. “Good boy.”

An awkward chuckle passed between them as Oliver kissed Percy again. This time was softer. As they traded lazy kisses, Percy felt Oliver’s grip on his shirt relax as one of his hands made its way up to tangle in Percy’s hair and pull him closer. Percy groaned into Oliver’s mouth. He loved his hair being played with. It took every ounce of Percy’s slipping self-control not to let his hands travel downwards to Oliver’s chest. Instead, he wrapped his arms tighter around Oliver’s neck. Oliver brought his other hand to Percy’s hip to pull him even closer. By this point, they were full-on snogging, pouring years of pent-up sexual tension and longing into this kiss.

Of course, this just _had_ to be the time there was a knock on the door.

“Hey, Perce,” Bill’s voice could be heard from the other side. Percy reluctantly pulled his lips away from Oliver’s. They were both panting, but Oliver refused to let Percy go completely. His hands were on Percy’s hips and he rested his head on Percy’s shoulders. Percy put a finger to his lips to indicate Oliver should be quiet.

“Yeah, Bill?” Percy croaked out.

The doorknob jiggled. Percy gave a sigh of relief that he had the forethought to lock it.

“I just wanted to make sure everything was OK up here,” Bill said.

“Yeah, we’re good,” Percy yelled back. Oliver snickered into his shoulder causing Percy to pinch him to be quiet.

“Um, okay. Anyway, I was hoping you could help me translate a message from my AirBnB host? It’s mostly in English, but there’s like a full sentence that I think is in German? Or something? It’s not French and it’s not English.”

A huff escaped Percy’s mouth and he rolled his eyes. Why did everyone have to require his help when he was doing something else? Oliver gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“I’ll meet you downstairs in a moment,” Percy called out, “I have to use the toilet.”

“Alright. I’ll meet you downstairs.” 

Percy waited until he could hear Bill on the stairs before he could breathe again. After he extracted himself from Oliver’s arms in order to stand, he turned to look at Oliver and lost his breath again. His eyes were sparkling and his grin was wide and Percy was so irrevocably _fucked_. It could have been the endorphins talking, but Oliver was so intoxicating like this that Percy would do anything he asked. Steal the crown jewels even.

“That was fun,” Oliver said with a laugh, “God you look a mess.” Oliver tried to smooth down Percy’s hair, but Percy knew it probably looked worse.

“That’s why I said I had to use the toilet,” Percy said.

“Ah, you’re clever,” Oliver sighed. Percy blushed.

Oliver suddenly turned bashful. “Can we talk about this? When you get back?” he asked.

Percy tried to ignore the spike of nerves that just hit him. Was this a good thing? A bad thing? “…sure,” he said. 

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

Percy slipped outside and padded to the toilet. Luckily, he didn’t run into anyone. That’s just what he needed: to explain his rumpled appearance to bloody Fred of all people. Looking in the mirror, it was obvious what he had just done. His lips were a bit swollen, his hair looked a mess, and there were some wrinkles in his shirt. He splashed some cold water on his face and brushed his hair. Smoothing out his shirt was a bit more difficult because it couldn’t get all the wrinkles. Percy just hoped Bill was sufficiently distracted by whatever his host had sent that he wouldn’t pick up on Percy’s messiness.

Fortunately, Bill was better at picking up abnormalities at digs than he was with people. 

Looking at Bill’s email, Percy could tell the one line wasn’t in German. Or French. It took about forty minutes, but the two of them ended up figuring out it was an offshoot of Dutch called French Flemish. Given the fact that Bill was going to northern France, it was understandable as well as annoying. After Google Translating it, they figured out it was a warning that the neighbor’s cat wasn’t friendly.

Properly annoyed, Percy trudged up the stairs. In order to relax, he decided a shower was just what he needed. Losing track of time as his muscles loosened under the hot water, Percy didn’t realize how late it actually was until he looked at his phone after he got out of the shower. Once he got back to his room, he noticed Oliver had fallen asleep. He figured their talk would just have to wait until the next day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that was a trip.
> 
> Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated. Do I need to add any tags? I'm not great at keeping up with that.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy guacamole, Batman! So many things have been going on with me. Literally, like the day after I posted my last chapter, my sister-in-law went into labor and our basement flooded. It was a busy day. And then my computer was having issues, so I had to get it fixed with the fear that my backup wasn't going to work. And I started working on a play. 
> 
> But it's fine. Get prepared for a long chapter. Also, there's spoilers for season 2 of ITV/PBS's Victoria. Just a warning. It's been out for two years though. 
> 
> As always, this has not been beta'd or Brit-picked, so any mistakes are my own. And I do not own Harry Potter.

“Ok, Oliver, Mandy from Twitter asks, ‘Snog, marry, get a pint with, play rugby with, go to an escape room with, get coffee with, punch: all the Weasley siblings.” Fred grinned at Oliver.

“That’s… so many options,” Oliver said.

“Yep!” Fred said gleefully.

Oliver and Percy’s planned talk had been put on hold. As soon as they both got up that Sunday morning, Fred basically forced them to get ready for recording. They had a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it if they wanted to get back to London at a reasonable hour. Oliver seemed pretty calm about the entire thing. Percy was mildly panicking. 

“Um,” Oliver said, “I guess…get coffee with George? I hate coffee, but maybe we could go get smoothies or something instead. And he could use a day out.”

“You hate coffee?” Fred asked.

“Do not get him started on it,” Percy groaned.

Oliver lightly shoved him.

“Weird you went with the coffee one first,” Fred noted.

“It’s just what popped into my head first!” Oliver said in his defense. He paused for a moment, looked over the paper slip, then said, “I suppose if he’d be OK with it, snog Charlie but have it be more of a friendly peck, get a pint with Ron, play rugby with Ginny, go to an escape room with Bill, coffee with George, marry Percy, and punch Fred.”

“Hey!” Fred exclaimed.

“Sorry, mate, you’re the one I most want to punch,” Oliver said, “And who else would I? I don’t exactly know Bill, Ron, or Gin all that well and they’ve done nothing to me. George is injured. Charlie is actually cool. And Percy is too pretty to hurt. Think of it as payback for all the pranks you played on the two of us.”

“Don’t think I didn’t notice that you’d say you’d marry Percy,” Fred pointed out.

Percy felt his face heat up. He noticed it too.

“So? We’ve seen each other at some pretty low points and know each other’s bad habits. We get along great. And, you know, he’s the only gay one,” Oliver said.

“I’m bi!”

“You’re in a relationship!” Oliver aped Fred’s whiny tone. 

“Next question!” Percy yelled out. He grabbed one of the slips of paper out of the bowl. “Danny asks ‘Do any of you have any tattoos? And if you don’t, what would you get tattooed and where?’ Well, I can tell you, Danny, I don’t have any tattoos. The process kind of terrifies me.”

“Percy doesn’t like needles. Which is weird because he does a lot of sewing,” Fred explained.

“It does make sense! Getting pricked isn’t a pleasant experience, but it’s small. Tattoos are they are going pretty deep into the skin and inserting ink. And I am sensitive,” Percy argued.

“I have a tattoo,” Oliver said.

“You do?” Percy asked, shocked.

“Yeah, it’s on my left inner calf. I only started working on it at the beginning of the year. Like if you look at my magazine shoot- which was taken back in like March- I only had the black outlines of it. I got it fully colored not too long ago. If you noticed the bandages under my rugby socks during the last few games, it was to cover it. And I’ve mostly worn long trousers since. Look.” Oliver put his leg on the coffee table and rolled up his jean leg. 

“Let me get a second camera. Hold on,” Fred said, getting up. He grabbed his GoPro and went to focus it on Oliver’s calf. It was a rather beautiful tattoo, in Percy’s mind. A collection of ivy and vibrantly colored pansies and dahlias surrounded a sword.

“What’s the story behind it?” Fred asked.

“Oh, um, it’s pretty… personal,” Oliver said, “I don’t want to talk about it on camera.”

“All right.” 

“It’s very pretty,” Percy said, “You said it took a while to get done?”

“Oh, yeah,” Oliver said, rolling his trouser leg back down. Fred set aside the GoPro and sat back down. “It took a few trips. Hurt too, but apparently it’s worse if there’s less fat or muscle.”

“Is that it or are you planning on more?” Percy asked.

Oliver said, “I also want to get ‘I’m an unspeakable of the Oscar Wilde sort’ from _Maurice_ tattooed on my arm.”

Fred snorted.

Percy started, “For the kids at home, _Maurice_ is an E.M. Forster novel and later a Merchant Ivory film-

“James Ivory wrote and directed it. He also wrote the screenplay for _Call Me By Your Name_ ,” Oliver added.

“Right,” Percy said, “It’s a gay, Edwardian love story about a man named Maurice who has a gay relationship in Cambridge, later gets snubbed, and then falls in love with his former lover’s gamekeeper.”

“God, you two are nerds,” Fred joked, “Personally, I don’t have any tattoos. I think the only one in the family that does is Charlie?” Fred looked at Percy for confirmation.

“Yeah, that’s the only one I know about. For all I know, someone else has one in a place that’s easy to hide. I wouldn’t put it past Bill or Ginny or even Ron. Charlie has a red dragon over his heart. The only reason Mum didn’t go ballistic when she saw it was because he said he got it because of her being Welsh.”

“That and dragons are _sweet_ ,” Fred added, mimicking Charlie when he explained it.

“Maybe you should get a tattoo for a video,” Oliver pointed out.

Fred considered that for a moment. “Maybe.”

“I don’t think there’s anything I would want to be permanently put on my body,” Percy said.

“Are you sure?” Oliver asked, grabbing Percy’s hand and lightly trailing a finger over his inner forearm. Percy felt himself shiver at the touch. “We could get matching _Maurice_ tattoos.”

“I don’t think I can handle the pain,” Percy said.

“I think you’re stronger than you think you are,” Oliver said and shrugged good-naturedly, quietly removing his hands.

“Wood, you grab the next one,” Fred said.

Oliver took a slip out of the bowl and said, “Phoenix asks ‘What’s the worst case of queer baiting you’ve seen on television?’”

Oliver looked between the two brothers.

Percy jumped right in, “You know, people on the internet like to talk about how _Sherlock_ was queerbaiting or _Merlin_ or whatever. No! Let me tell you about a little show on ITV called _Victoria_. It stars Jenna Coleman as a young Queen Victoria. Fine. Whatever. I liked the first series. Then in the second series, a background character from the from the first series named Lord Alfred, who seemed to be a little queer coded, seemed to be sharing flirtatious looks with one of the prime minister’s secretaries, Drummond. And at first you’re like ‘Am I reading too much into this? They’re not actually going to go there?’ because I have wrongly assumed things in the past. And then there are more and more references to them being interested in each other. Alfred gets jealous that Drummond is getting married. They skinny-dip in a lake in France. There’s the obligatory Achilles and Patroclus reference- the obvious sign in a historical drama that there are some gay things going on. Exciting, but still hesitant. I have been bitten before. Then, in the penultimate episode of the series, they go with the court to Scotland where they finally kiss! It actually happened! _Then,_ the other shoe drops in final episode of the series, the very next episode. I remembered who the historical Drummond was and sure enough Drummond gets shot protecting the prime minister and he _dies_. THEN in the Christmas special, Alfred gets engaged to a woman despite never showing any interest in women and more importantly still mourning the love of his life! He was wearing a mourning band under his clothes! This literally happens less than a minute after she gives him a lock of Drummond’s hair! And then both of these characters are barely seen again. They gave themselves such a pat on the back for being so inclusive and then punched us all in the face. There was so much more drama you could squeeze out of the situation- at least for another series- because sodomy was _illegal_ during that time- like threat of death illegal- and it’s not like the show got the situation surrounding Drummond’s death right anyway. I hated it. It was awful. And I will not get over it. Stop killing off gay characters.” Percy was practically fuming by the time he was done.

Fred slow clapped. “That was amazing! I was there when it first happened and your rant has only gotten better.”

“Shut up, Fred,” Percy snapped.

“I like how passionate you are,” Oliver said, bumping his shoulder against Percy’s. 

This continued for a few hours: the three of them answered questions, Fred joked, Oliver seemed like he was flirting, and Percy internally overanalyzed everything. 

Some of the questions were funny. Others were serious. Occasionally, they had to redo takes because of awkward wording or someone sneezed or a mic stopped working. They filmed for hours with small breaks and a stop for lunch in between. Percy knew there was no way all of these questions were going to be in one video. Fred explained there was going to be a main video of the best moments and he was considering making the rest or some of the rest a Patreon exclusive.

There was no time to talk afterwards either. Molly had set out quite a spread for tea and like most meals where there was more the four Weasleys, it was loud and mildly chaotic. There were plenty of leftover sweets that Percy promised would get to Charlie. Then, Oliver wanted to get on the road before it got too dark out. Percy had hoped they would talk in the car on the way back to London, but then he remembered that Bill was coming with him. Goddammit.

Like the trip into Devon, Oliver drove and Percy sat in the front passenger side. Oliver had also queued up a playlist on his mobile. Bill sat in the back.

“So, Bill,” Oliver said as their car was leaving the village, “What’s the scariest part of being an archaeologist?”

“Overeager students,” Bill deadpanned, “They will be the death of me. From either getting too excited with a shovel or dropping a priceless artefact.”

Oliver laughed.

“Actually,” Bill said in a lighter tone, “The real scary thing is looters.”

“Does that happen often?” Oliver asked.

“Oh, yeah. I’ve been on a few digs where things have been stolen. Actually, something I was planning on using for my doctoral thesis got stolen. I was so bloody furious, I couldn’t stand it.”

“What was your thesis on?” Oliver asked.

“The history of games in medieval Europe and how similarities between countries indicate invasion, migration, and trade,” Bill said.

“And people say I’m the nerdy Weasley brother,” Percy sighed, “It’s unfair that you get to be the hot one and be such a dork.”

Oliver seemed like he was about to say something, but Bill beat him to it, “I don’t know how this has escaped you, but we look _very_ similar. Our biggest differences are the hair, the nose, and your stronger cheekbones. And I’m slightly less pale. Also, you said you liked my thesis.”

“I did like your thesis,” Percy said, “I found it very fascinating. You are a great writer. But you have to admit it is a very niche topic.”

“I never said it _wasn’t_ a niche topic,” Bill argued, “I _said_ we look very similar. I don’t know how I got pegged as ‘the cool one’ or ‘the hot one’ or whatever.”

“You have a very cultivated image,” Percy pointed out. 

“I like what I like,” Bill said, shrugging, “Not that it has helped me in my dating life. How are _the twins_ in long-term relationships, but you and I aren’t? We’re both smart, attractive blokes, right?”

“I’m kind of picky and you’re awkward around women? I’ve been to bars with you, you clam up around pretty girls. The thing about the twins is that they are _very_ charming.” Percy said.

Oliver finally spoke up, “Also, they’re both dating friends from school. But, hey Bill, maybe you’ll find someone in France!”

Bill scoffed, “Like that will happen. I’ll be making sure a bunch of twenty-year-olds don’t cause an international incident.”

“Well, if they do, maybe the INTERPOL agent will be hot,” Percy said, “Or you can finally join our team. I know plenty of gay men that say Harrison Ford was their sexual awakening and wouldn’t mind taking a shot at an attractive archeologist.” 

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

For a while, they continued onwards. Sometimes they talked. Sometimes they just listened to the Hall and Oates playlist on Oliver’s iPhone. Percy was slightly on edge because while he wanted to talk to Oliver about where they stood after the whole kiss thing, Bill was in the car and this was not a conversation he wanted his brother to be privy to.

About halfway to London, Oliver’s phone rang, interrupting the music.

“Hey Perce, who’s calling me?” 

Percy looked at the screen. “Mattie Rivers?”

Oliver let out a deep sigh. “Oh, OK. She probably won’t kill me if I call her later,” he mildly grumbled under his breath.

“Is she one of your people?” Percy asked. He didn’t really know the names or even the genders of Oliver’s publicity people.

“Um, no,” Oliver said while sparing a quick glance at Percy, “She’s my sister, Matilda.”

“You have a sister? Since when?” Percy asked. He racked through his brain, trying to think of Oliver ever mentioning a sibling. Something came to him quickly all the way back from first meeting Oliver and a few other childhood conversations. “Wait. Wait, wait, wait, is she your half-sister? The one you never talk to?”

“Yeah,” Oliver said, “Talk to her now though.”

Bill piped up from the back seat, “You have a half-sister?”

“Yep,” Oliver said, “Older one. She’s, like, your age Bill. Maybe a little older? Basically, my dad accidently knocked up his girlfriend while he was in college. She wanted to keep the baby. Their parents forced them to get married. And then Mattie was born.”

“How long were they married?” Percy asked. He couldn’t remember what Oliver told him over ten years ago, if he ever did.

“Like four years? Five maybe?” Oliver said, “Basically, my dad realized he couldn’t pursue professional rugby and became very… my dad about it. They made each other miserable and they got divorced. He paid for Matilda’s child support and stuff, but her mum took care of her mostly. I only saw her a handful of times growing up.”

“Why?” Bill asked.

“Percy knows this, but my dad is an arsehole. That’s why. I think she represented the fact that he couldn’t play rugby professionally, so he didn’t want to see her much. I think my mum felt bad for her though. I found out later that she checked in on Matilda and her mum from time to time.”

“Is that how you got back in contact with her?” Percy asked.

“Kinda,” Oliver said, “Not too long after we graduated Hogwarts, she invited us to her wedding. Probably a courtesy thing. Dad didn’t want to go. Mum felt it wasn’t her place to go, so I went by myself without my dad knowing.”  
  


“How did _that_ happen?” 

“There was a big car show the same weekend. And, you know, he will take every opportunity to promote his auto detailing business. He tried to get me to go with him to help him.” Oliver wrinkled his nose in displeasure, “I hate car shows. So many loud old men bragging about their engines and talking about how women flock to them in their vintage Aston Martins like they’re James Bond. Like, you’re a dentist from Leeds, calm down. Maybe they’re the reason I just went with a sensible car? Anyway, it was the off-season and it was back when I was with Leicester, so I said I wanted to work with a physical trainer. Dad didn’t even question it and my mum went with him. And he’s not friends with anyone who was at the wedding, so he never knew. Of course, I checked with Matilda before I came. She was fine with it. It was a nice wedding. I was at a table with some of her distant cousins and they were all very nice to me, but I did get to talk to her. Talking to her again after so many years was a bit awkward, but we got through it. Occasionally emailed each other after that for a few years, but I actually didn’t get close with her until my therapist suggested I reach out. It has always bothered me that we weren’t close, so I wanted to try.”

“And it went OK?” Bill asked.

“There was a lot of crap we had to go through. A lot. Basically, Dad screwed us up in different ways and once we got through it all, we got along great. We realized we actually had a lot in common. We’re both stubborn and kind of odd. We like the same kinds of films and music. She’s pansexual. She’s actually the first person I told I was gay, other than my therapist. I figured I could have some support in the family if talking to my parents didn’t go well.”

“That’s good,” Percy said. He was a bit surprised this was the first he was hearing of this, “What does she do for a living?”

Oliver chuckled. “She’s actually a social worker for a nonprofit that helps queer teens. Crazy, right? Her husband, Thor, owns a tattoo parlor. He’s cool. They have a five year-old, Dahlia. She’s wild, let me tell you. She loves dinosaurs and princesses and has been trying to convince her mum to let her dye her hair purple. She hasn’t convinced Mattie yet, but we’ll see.” Oliver looked genuinely happy. While it was nice to see him in a healthy relationship with his family, Percy felt a little left out. In the few weeks they had been talking, Oliver hadn’t mentioned his sister once.

Percy asked the question that was sitting in the back of his mind for the whole conversation: “Why haven’t you talked about her in interviews?”

Oliver sighed. “I wanted to, but she asked me not to. She doesn’t want reporters sniffing around her family. Dolly is pretty young. And, um, her husband is a trans man and she’s just worried about how some people in their community will take it. They both are. I get it. And I have to respect their wishes. I don’t want any of them to get hurt. Besides, we both felt that we shouldn’t air family drama publicly right now. Dad acted a lot better than I feared he would when I told him I was gay- it’s been more microaggressions than anything else- but she and I both felt I shouldn’t push it.”

“That makes sense. It sucks, but it makes sense. I’m glad that you have some family in your corner,” Percy said sincerely.

“Me too,” Oliver said, “And mum’s been pretty supportive, but it’s always good to have more help.”

“I’m always here to help,” Percy said.

“Oh, I know that!” Oliver chuckled, “But thanks.”

They turned away from the subject after that. The rest of the drive was uneventful. The three of them talked some more. They stopped to get some food and some petrol. Bill fell asleep at some point.

By the time they reached Percy’s flat, it had been dark for hours. As soon as he got the car parked, Oliver got out and took the Weasley brothers’ luggage out of the boot. 

“Thanks for driving us man,” Bill said as shook Oliver’s hand. 

“No problem,” Oliver said, “It was good seeing you. Have fun in France.”

Bill stepped closer to the building. He hadn’t been to his brothers’ flat before, so Percy had to take him up. 

Percy stepped closer to Oliver and took the offered overnight bag. 

“This weekend was fun,” Oliver said with a smile.

“Yeah, it was.” Percy did have fun despite some of his confusion.

“We’re going to talk soon, right?” Oliver asked. His eyes were soft and Percy didn’t know how to take it.

“Mmhmm,” Percy said, nodding. 

Oliver smiled and give him a one-armed hug. “I’ll see you soon, then.” He gave Percy a kiss on the cheek and headed back to the front of his car. 

“See you!” Percy called out. 

Percy walked up to his brother. Bill gave him a look. “What?” Percy asked as he continued right on to his building.

“Nothing,” Bill said, “Except the kissing on the cheek thing is new. At least from what I can tell. What’s up with that?”

“I don’t know. Oliver’s just affectionate with me,” Percy said.

“Or he’s interested in dating you,” Bill said.

Percy considered denying it for a moment but came up with an answer closer to the truth. “I don’t know.”

* * *

  
  


“Welcome to Felicity and Audrey’s Secret Meet-Up for Secret Wedding Planning 2019 volume one,” Audrey said ushering Percy into her flat on Wednesday. She was still wearing her work clothes- a yellow blouse, a daisy belt, and a blue gingham print skirt. The only thing missing were her shoes. Her skirt swished as Percy walked behind her.

The Bloomingfeld-Simons home was a bit of a sight to behold. Both Audrey and Felicity were known for their eclectic tastes and love of colors. They didn’t do minimalist design. The plan for the living room and kitchen space was “1970s, but make it modern”. They kept most of the color palette in greens, blues, and purples. The entire wall behind the lavender sofa was covered in artwork. The kitchen chairs had cushions made from African wax prints. Even their dishware was a mix of floral print, bright colors, or both. Fortunately, they had enough taste where it worked.

“Hello, love!” Felicity called from her spot at the kitchen stove. She had clearly been home for a while because she was wearing a tunic and leggings. Her teal braids were piled into a bun on the top of her head. Percy watched as she cracked an egg onto a pan. 

“What’s for dinner?” He asked.

“Bibimbap,” Felicity said, “And before you ask, no there is no kimchi in it, you weakling.”

“Thank you.” Percy wasn’t a fan of sour things.

“She’s been cooking for a while now,” Audrey said beaming, “Isn’t she amazing? It looks so good! Oh my god, we’re going to get married!”

“He knows, Sunshine, that’s why he’s here,” Felicity teased. 

“It’s just so exciting!”

Percy covered Audrey’s ears to ask Felicity, “Did you sneak her an edible or a muscle relaxer?”

Felicity laughed. Audrey elbowed him in the side. 

“Try a glass and a half of white wine,” Felicity said, “You know what a lightweight she is.”

“I’m not drunk!” Audrey defended, “Just a teeny tiny bit buzzing.”

“Was work that bad that you’re drinking on a Wednesday evening?” Percy teased as he sat down at the already set table. 

“No! Actually, yeah, a kid threw up in my classroom. Poor thing. She’s one of those ‘wants to get a perfect attendance award’ kids. Cried on the way to the nurse’s office.”

“You two wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?” Felicity said as she placed the last fried egg into the last bowl.

“Ha ha,” Audrey responded, “I never threw up in class. Percy, water?”

Percy nodded as Felicity said, “Yeah, but you went to class with a cold _all the time_. Remember when Snape made you see Pomfrey because you were sneezing too much in class?”

“Well, that’s because he was a dick. And that time wasn’t a cold. The pollen count was really high that day,” Audrey said. She gave Percy a glass of water as Felicity set out the food.

“How was your day, Felicity?” Percy asked as the three of them tucked into their food.

“Fine,” she said, “Hosted my radio show, made sure Only the Tea came out, worked on a blog post, typical Wednesday. How are things in the land of the dead? Any ghosts try and throttle you for touching their things?”

Percy never was sure if Felicity actually believed in ghosts or just liked messing with Percy because he kind of did. Try hearing screaming in the Haunted Gallery and not being convinced that Katherine Howard’s ghost was there.

“It was fine. The ghosts haven’t attacked me yet,” Percy said.

“Oh! I forgot to ask! How was your weekend with Oliver and your brothers?” Audrey asked.

Percy decided to keep it casual. “Good. We filmed some videos. Mainly about our coming outs, but we had like a goofy q and a. Bill was there. He wanted to stop by home before he went to France for the summer.”

“How was George? Is he getting better?” Audrey asked.

“Getting there. His hearing will never be the same. He’s still a bit dizzy, but he’s getting better. Mum said the doctor said they might be taking his cast off soon,” Percy said.

“Well, that’s good!” Audrey said.

Percy squirmed in his seat as he felt Felicity study him. “You’re hiding something,” she stated.

“I’m not,” Percy quickly defended.

“Percy Weasley, I have known you for over ten years. Hell, it’s almost fifteen years. I know your tells. You are avoiding eye contact and you’re squirming. What happened? What did you do?” Felicity said.

“Nothing!” 

Both women were staring at him now. He caved under their gaze. “God! Fine!” Percy shouted, then deflated, “Um, Oliver told me he hadn’t been kissed before and I kind of...sort of… offered to kiss him? And we did?”

“WHAT?!” Both of his friends exploded. Felicity got up and paced the kitchen either in elation or shock. Audrey started rambling off questions.

“Oh my god, why did you do that? Was it good? How long did you snog? Was it wet? Was it dry? Did you kiss again? Did you shag? Are you dating now? Please tell me you’re dating! I’ve been waiting years for this moment! Oh my god, oh my god, oh my gooood!”

“What has gotten into you two?!” Percy asked.

Felicity started. She was gripping the back of her dining chair from where she stood. “You’ve been love with him since you were, like, thirteen-”

“And he’s been in love with you _forever_ -”

“Like you complaining about us taking forever to get married, this is how _we_ feel about you _two_ -”

“You two are just so cute together!”

“And that’s why we’re freaking out,” Felicity ended.

“Nothing happened! We snogged a bit. I had to show Ollie not to use so much tongue, but he got better. Bill interrupted us by knocking at the door. I had to go help him with something, Oliver said we’d talk about it and we haven’t,” Percy said.

“When did this happen?” Felicity asked, sharp.

“Saturday evening,” Percy admitted, defeated.

“What the _fuck,_ Weasley?! You’ve ghosted him for four days?!” Felicity exclaimed.

“He hasn’t bothered talking to me about it either!” Percy yelled back, “And it’s been three days because we were still doing stuff on Sunday but didn’t have a chance to talk.”

“You know, I think because he’s had to be the bold one recently, it’s only right for you to step up and get the conversation going,” Felicity said.

“Also, you offered to kiss him. He’s probably confused?” Audrey added.

“I’m confused too!” Percy said.

“Yeah, all the more reason for you to _talk to him_ ,” Felicity said.

“I’ll talk to him,” Percy said, “I promise.”

“No, we’re doing this now,” Felicity said while stepping up to Percy, “Give me your mobile.”

“What? No,” Percy said stepping away.

“It’s insurance that you’re actually going to do it,” Felicity argued.

“See if he’s available right now,” Audrey piped up.

“What about your wedding planning?” Percy asked.

“We can do some of this research without you,” Audrey said, “We’ll start with UK places.”

“Worse comes to worse, we do Gretna Green,” Felicity said, “It’s not about the wedding for us, it’s the marriage.” She gave Audrey a smile. Audrey smiled back. Felicity turned back to Percy, huffing, “And God forbid, you two boys get your shit together by yourselves. The lesbians have to solve everything. Don’t we?”

“Ugh, fine,” Percy said. He unlocked his phone and handed it over to his friend.

“Well, I’m glad that you don’t do any fun nicknames for people. Makes it easier to find,” Felicity muttered under her breath. She typed a few things and handed the phone back to Percy.

Looking at the screen, Percy read.

**Percy:** _Sorry for taking a while, but are you available to talk? Perhaps tonight?_

“And now, babes, we will continue eating and wait for Loverboy’s response,” Felicity said.

“Is he working for the weekend?” Audrey joked. At her fiancé and friend’s confused looks, she said, “C’mon. Loverboy? The rock band from the 80s? Their most famous song is ‘Working for the Weekend’? Eh?”

There was a moment of silence, then Percy groaned, “Oh my God,” and the group burst into laughter.

After the ice was broken, they ate and talked for a bit more. About twelve minutes into their conversation about the best way to convince Audrey and Felicity’s individual families to holiday together, Percy’s iPhone buzzed. The room went quiet.

“Is it him?” Audrey asked. She gripped her fiancé’s arm.

Percy reached for his mobile as if it might bite him. He picked it up and looked at the screen. It read “Oliver Wood: iMessage”.

“It’s him,” Percy gulped.

“What did he say?” Felicity asked.

Percy unlocked it and went to his messages. “He says ‘Hey, Perce. I’m available to talk. Do you want to come over to my place?’” Percy looked back up at the women. “What do I do?”

“Text him!” Felicity said.

“I know that!” Percy snapped, “What do I say?”

“Tell him,” Audrey instructed, smoothing over everyone’s nerves, “that you’re finishing having dinner with us and that you’ll be by soon.”

“OK,” Percy said, typing it out.

“Where does Wood live?” Felicity asked.

“I’m pretty sure he lives in Stadium Village in Twickenham, near his work?” Percy said, “He’s typing! Oh, it’s just his address and instructions to get to his home. Yep, Stadium Village.”

“That’s not _too_ far from here,” Felicity noted, “You could probably just use a ride sharing app. Especially if you don’t want to walk in the dark.”

“Oh! You’ll probably want to brush your teeth! We have some spare toothbrushes for visitors,” Audrey said.

“Huh?” Percy asked. Why would he need to brush his teeth?

“There was garlic and scallions in the food! What if he wants to kiss you? And let me fix your hair…” Audrey said as she grabbed Percy’s hand and led him down the hall. For a slightly tipsy petite woman, she had a surprisingly large amount of strength. Meanwhile, Felicity took the phone out of his hand. “I’ll call you a car,” she explained at Percy’s stressed out look.

In the loo, Audrey promptly dug through the cabinets, grabbed a packaged toothbrush, opened it and handed it to Percy. At this point in his life, he just stopped questioning whenever Audrey got into a mood like this, so he brushed his teeth. Afterwards, she made him sit on the closed toilet and she fussed with his hair. Felicity stood in the doorway, amusedly slipping a glass of wine and watched Percy’s phone for the car’s arrival. She snapped a photo with Percy’s phone and appeared to send it to herself.

“I wish you hadn’t come from work,” Audrey muttered, “I would have put you in something blue. At least a cool color. Bring out your eyes.”

“He looks fine, Sweetie. I don’t think Oliver’s gonna care what he’s wearing as soon as it’s on his floor,” Felicity said with a wink to Percy. His face flushed. “Car should be here in three.”

Audrey surveyed Percy. “Love, does his hair look good?” she asked Felicity, “I put a smidge of mouse in it to get some of the volume back.”

“I think it looks good. C’mon, let’s get him moving.”

Percy spared a glance in the mirror. He didn’t feel like he looked much different other than his hair looked a bit neater.

Once they were back near the front door, Felicity handed Percy his iPhone back. “Let me know how much your ride is, I’ll pay you back half,” Felicity said.

“Oh, bloody hell, I think the rain’s gotten worse,” Audrey said while looking out the window, “And I just did your hair.”

“It’s fine, Aud,” Percy said.

“Your car is probably waiting,” Felicity said. She gave Percy a one-armed hug, “Go get him tiger.”

Audrey also hugged him. “Good luck! Now, go. Go!” She lightly pushed him out of the flat. “Bye, bye, Percy!”

“Have fun storming the castle!” Felicity called out.

Percy waved behind him as he walked down their hallway and out the building’s front door. Sure enough, a car was idling outside, but across the street. Percy cursed not bringing either an umbrella or a rain jacket with him to work today. As a Brit, he knew never to trust the weather, but it was so lovely out that morning he incorrectly assumed that it would stay that way. It was stupid. As he jogged toward the car, he felt his cardigan get progressively wetter. 

“Weasley?” the driver asked.

“Yeah,” Percy said. He looked at his app. “Stan?” he asked, repeating the name on screen.

“That’s me!” Stan the driver said. Percy got into the car.

It took all of three minutes for Percy to realize that this was probably going to be the worst taxi ride of his life. He already felt sick to his stomach thinking about what he would say to Oliver, but the driver was quickly getting on his already frayed nerves. This Stan was possibly the worst driver he had ever seen- and he had been driven by Fred, Ginny, _and_ Ron Weasley, thank you very much. The suggested speed limit was never an option. He only hit the brakes what felt like mere centimeters before they were to hit another car. And Jesus Christ could this man talk. He prattled endlessly the entire drive. Seeing Percy was going to Twickenham, he spent a good portion just recapping an England rugby game he saw when he was ten. He claimed it was some sort of championship. Percy knew it likely wasn’t. At least he didn’t ask about his personal life.

Finally, _finally_ , they pulled up to the address Oliver had given him. It was a row of terrace houses and Oliver’s was somewhere in the middle. Percy coldly thanked Stan and got out of the car. He rushed to Oliver’s door and knocked.

After a moment the door opened.

“Hi,” Percy said.

“Hey, come on in,” Oliver gave a soft smile. He seemed a bit tired, but still put on a happy face. Percy tried not to stare out how Oliver’s tight t-shirt fit snuggly over his chest. Once inside, Oliver noticed how damp Percy was. “God, you’re soaked. Let’s get you dried off. Take off your cardie and your shirt. Let me get you a sweatshirt or something. Oh, and your shoes and socks.”

Before Percy could even argue, Oliver had turned away and rushed up the stairs. For someone who typically was the mother hen among his friends and family, Percy was sure being bossed around a lot in the past hour. Like with Audrey, he decided not to question it. He really didn’t want to keep wearing the wet clothes anyway. He toed off his shoes and socks and placed them by the front door. He walked further into the house as he unbuttoned his cardigan and shirt. Looking around, he decided to hang them on the back of two barstools in the kitchen. Noting his undershirt was also pretty damp, he decided to remove that too.

Percy did a quick visual sweep of Oliver’s place. It seemed to be the exact opposite of the place he had just been. Felicity and Audrey’s flat felt like a home. Oliver’s place just seemed empty. His kitchen was nice with shiny new appliances, a breakfast bar, and a clean kitchen table. The living room was fairly modern too with matching black leather chairs and a sofa. The coffee stable was a sleek black wood and chrome legs. There was a large television above the fireplace. But there was no art on the walls. No photographs on the mantle. The only personal thing was the bookshelf Percy saw in that first photo Oliver sent him. It was mostly books, but there were some knickknacks and few photographs. One of them actually caught his eye and he picked it up. It was a photo of him and Oliver after Hogwarts’s big intramural championship rugby game. While there were actual men’s and women’s rugby teams on campus that played other schools, there were also teams for the four campus houses. Surprisingly, it was co-ed. Unsurprisingly, intramural rugby was taken way too seriously. Football was too, but Oliver only cared about rugby. In the photo, Gryffindor House had just won the cup and Oliver was hugging both Percy and the cup at the same time. He was grinning toward the camera while Percy laughed. Percy was certain Felicity or Audrey had snapped the photo.

“You found that quickly. I love that photo. One of the best days of my life,” a voice said to Percy’s right. Percy startled and guilty put the photo back in its spot. He turned to face Oliver. “Here,” Oliver said, handing Percy a bundle of clothes, “It’s all probably a little big, but I found you a sweatshirt and some socks and an old pair of joggers, if you’d like. I wasn’t sure how damp your trousers are. It’s all warm though. I don’t want you catching a chill.”

“Thanks,” Percy said. He put the sweatshirt on immediately. He recognized it as an old Hogwarts one. Despite their similar heights, Oliver had always been bigger, so the sleeves went a little long and the hem reached somewhere around Percy’s thigh. With the warm, dry top on, Percy realized that his trousers were indeed a bit damp. Considering the joggers for a moment, he decided that they would be more comfortable than his wet khakis. He quickly shucked his trousers off and put on the joggers. They were a bit loose, but they must have been fairly old because they fit better than Percy expected when he tightened the drawstring. He slipped on the socks last, finally feeling properly dry. 

Oliver picked up Percy’s pair of trousers and hung them on the back of the last available barstool. 

“Feel better?” Oliver asked.

“Yes, thank you.”

“Would you like tea or anything?” Oliver seemed a bit awkward. Usually the two of them were so comfortable together.

“Tea’s fine, thanks,” Percy said with what he hoped was a comforting smile.

As Oliver headed into his kitchen, Percy followed. “Your house is very, um, clean,” he said.

“I think you mean depressingly empty,” Oliver said humorlessly as filled the kettle and put it on the stove, “I know jack shit about decorating and I still had to keep up a straight appearance if someone visited. So, yeah, I don’t exactly love it.”

“Well, now that you’re out, you can try finding a style you like,” Percy said, “You know who would probably want to help?”

“You?” Oliver asked with a wink. 

“Well, yes, but Audrey Bloomingfeld would probably want to help. She’s big into interior design and is good at finding interesting pieces. We may have to reign her in a bit- you might remember how crazy she can go with color- but she’d have some good ideas.”

Oliver smiled. “I like that idea. You know, of our little quartet, she’s the only one I haven’t seen yet. You just came from the girls’ place, right? How is she? Felicity told me she teaches music?” The kettle whistled and Oliver set about making the tea.

“At a primary school, yeah. She also does some private music lessons. They’re both good. They wanted me to give you their love,” Percy said.

“That’s good,” Oliver said, “Still take your tea black?”

“Yeah.” Oliver handed him a mug and signaled they should go back to the living room.

“How does one get invited to dinner with the coolest girls in town?” Oliver asked as they both sat down on the sofa.

“Ask Felicity, probably. I know she’d be happy to have you. Or offer to plan their wedding,” Percy said.

Oliver’s eyebrows rose. “They’re engaged? Holy shit.”

“Technically? As far as I know, there hasn’t been like an honest-to-God proposal, but they want to get married,” Percy paused for a moment, realizing what he just said, “Wait, shit, I probably wasn’t supposed to tell you that.”

“It’s a secret?” Oliver asked.

“It’s complicated,” Percy said, “Can you keep a secret?”

Oliver nodded.

“Basically, they’re both concerned about what would happen if they had a large, proper wedding, especially deciding what faith they would do it in. And I think Audrey would quite frankly die from stress if they went with a large wedding. So, they’re considering elopement or inviting immediate family on a holiday or something. A surprise wedding, basically.”

“Wow. That’s a bold move. I kind of like it,” Oliver said.

“Well, now that you know, you might it dragged into helping,” Percy said.

Oliver shrugged. “Fine by me. I can help with a game plan. I get bored during the off-season anyway.”

Percy look a long sip of tea. He could feel where this conversation was starting to turn.

“Your brother get to France alright?” Oliver asked.

“Yeah, he’s there now. He says his AirBnB is nice,” Percy said.

“Did you get to spend time with him while he was in town? I bet Charlie was glad to see him.” 

“Oh yeah. They chatted for a while when we got home on Sunday. Bill visited us both at work on Monday. And we went to a pub quiz near our flat that evening. He left on Tuesday.”

“Did you win? Between the three of you, I’d guess you get most of the bases down.”

“No,” Percy huffed, “There was an entire cricket category.”

Oliver threw his head back and laughed, “Oh no!”

“I hate cricket. It’s a stupid, confusing game and I hate it,” Percy whined.

“I know you do,” Oliver said with a chuckle.

“Are you laughing at me?”

“No,” Oliver said, “I just think you’re adorable when you’re grumpy like this.” 

Percy felt himself freeze up. “Oh.”

“Um, can we talk about what happened Saturday?” Oliver asked softly. Percy nodded, not making eye contact. “I’d really like it if you looked at me,” Oliver said.

Percy angled himself so his feet were also on the sofa and he was hugging his knees, facing the other side of the sofa. He looked up. Oliver was staring at him with soft eyes. He was leaning on his arm that was resting on the back of the sofa. Percy tried giving him a smile, but it probably came out half-heartedly.

“So,” Oliver started, “we kissed.”

“We did,” Percy agreed.

Oliver bit his lip, took a deep breath, and started again, “Um, I don’t know how you felt about it, but I liked kissing you.”

“I liked it too,” Percy said softly.

Oliver beamed. “Great! Um, I’m not sure where to go with this?”

Percy was a bit torn- he really liked Oliver- but he decided to voice his fears. “Ollie, I really like you. Really, really like you,” he said, “But we just got back together. Is it wise to move further so quickly? What if this doesn’t work out and ruins our friendship?”

Oliver scooted closer to Percy and took one of his hands. “Percy, it won’t. Our foundation is good. And I think we’re both enough of adults to acknowledge _if_ we’re romantically incompatible that we can separate on good terms. We could still be friends.”

Percy got up and paced around the living room. “But you’re so new to this! What if you get sick on me? Or bored? I’m not rich or handsome or interesting. I’ve got nothing to offer you. You could be swimming in pretty boys who are much better talking with other people and help you move up in the world.”

“I don’t want any of that stuff!” Oliver exclaimed as he got up. “Wait that sounded wrong,” he groaned. After stopping for a moment, he continued, “You’re gorgeous. Your red hair and blue eyes are as vibrant as you are. And you’re plenty interesting. You are so passionate about your family and history and things that are important to you. I don’t need rich. And I’ve never wanted fame. I’m not perfect either. I’m not great with words. Like I did the same pep talk so many years in a row. _I’m_ not interesting. I’ve been doing nothing when I’m not working. I’m still working on sharing my emotions. I probably should have told you about my sister earlier, but I didn’t know how. She’s so important to me and I want you to like her and her to like you. Because, um, I really like you. I have for a long time actually. Like, when I was still in the closet, I would be too scared to look you up on social media because what if you had found someone? Not that I didn’t want you to be happy, but I really, really like you and I know you’ve been hurt and I promise I won’t be like your exes because I really want-”

Percy walked over and kissed him. Partially, it was to stop Oliver’s rambling. The other part was because Percy couldn’t help himself. Oliver seemed serious and, God, did Percy want him. It was a brief kiss, but Percy still stayed close once it was over.

“Shut up, Ollie,” Percy mumbled against Oliver’s lips.

Oliver was struck dumb for a moment but lit up when things finally clicked. Grinning, he placed a callused hand on the nape of Percy’s neck and pulled him closer for another kiss. This one was longer than the previous one, but not as charged as the one on Saturday.

“So, this means you’ll give us a shot?” Oliver asked when they separated. His hand was still on Percy’s nape. His touch was sending delicious shivers down Percy’s spine.

Percy fondly rolled his eyes. “Yes, I’ll give this a shot. And for the sake of honesty, I really liked you for a long time too,” Percy said.

Oliver gave Percy a soft kiss. “Pinch me, I must be dreaming,” Oliver whispered as he cradled Percy’s cheek in his hand. Percy turned into it and pressed a kiss on his palm.

“You’re not unless we’re having a shared hallucination,” Percy joked.

Oliver laughed as he stepped away. He still held on to one of Percy’s hands. “If you’re available, I’m going to take you on a proper date this weekend. Prepare to be wooed.”

“Are you going to write me an ode to my beauty?” Percy teased. Wooing was a such a weird term for Oliver to use. He stepped closer to steal another kiss, but Oliver stepped back.

“Only if you’ll give me a favor for my next joust,” Oliver joked right back. He brought the hand he was still holding up to lips and kissed it. This time it was Percy’s turn to laugh.

“We’re such dorks.”

“You’re just now figuring that out?” Oliver asked. After sharing giggles and a few small kisses, Oliver sighed. “It’s getting late. As much as I want you to stay, I know you have work in the morning and I don’t want to besmirch your honor with your coworkers.”

“All right,” Percy said. “Drive me home? I had the worst cabbie on my way here.”

“Of course,” Oliver said. “Grab your clothes. I have a tote somewhere in the kitchen you can borrow. Let me find it. Unfortunately, you’ll have to wear those wet shoes. But I’ll grab an umbrella we can share.”

“You don’t want me to change back?” Percy asked.

“No, I like seeing you wearing my clothes,” Oliver said. He winked before heading off to his kitchen.

Percy knew one thing for certain: Oliver Wood was going to be the death of him and he couldn’t be more excited.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Could have this been two chapters? Probably. But I also feared you guys would kill me if I didn't have Percy and Oliver discuss things this chapter. 
> 
> Sometimes I have to reference obscure Harry Potter characters because I can't be stopped. 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! Thanks for all of the support for the last chapter!
> 
> As usual, this work has not been beta'd or Brit-picked, so all mistakes are my own. I do not own Harry Potter.

Thursday and Friday came with a flurry of text messages.

**Audrey:** _PLEASE TELL ME EVERYTHING WENT WELL!!!_

**Felicity:** _If one of you fucked this up, I swear you are hopeless._

Percy was able to confirm to his friends that, yes, he and Oliver were going to go out. They both begged him to give details, which he did. Audrey joked that they basically pulled what Mrs. Bennet did to Jane when she was sent on horseback in the rain to Mr. Bingley’s house in _Pride and Prejudice_ , but without Percy getting sick.

Midday on Thursday, Percy received a test from Oliver.

**Oliver:** _Hey gorgeous. I was thinking of date ideas and I wanted to get your opinion on something. How would you feel about seeing something in the West End? I heard there’s a musical about the 6 wives of Henry VIII?_

**Percy:** _You mean Six? I’d love to see it, but can you get tickets? It’s pretty popular._

**Oliver:** _It helps that I’m the gay it boy of the moment. Let me see what I can do._

Turned out, Oliver was able to get tickets to _Six_ for that Saturday. The two of them made plans for Oliver to pick Percy up that night. Then they would take public transport to the city center, have dinner, and then go to the show. Parking in London was always a nightmare and most people tended to leave famous folks alone on public transport. Percy debated telling at least Bill or Ginny for outfit ideas but decided against it. Ginny would undoubtfully spill the news to at least Ron, if not the twins, and Percy would be done for. Bill was a 50-50 shot on that front. Charlie would have to know, but Percy trusted that Charlie could keep his mouth shut for a few days. Percy just wanted to keep his good news to himself for a moment.

Percy ended up going to the girls for outfit help. That Friday evening, Audrey and Felicity took over Percy’s bedroom. Percy tried to keep his displeasure hidden at the piles of clothes strewn about.

“What about the dove gray suit?” Audrey asked. “The one with the trousers that make your bum look really good?”

“How? I barely have a bum,” Percy grumbled as he carefully rehung the discarded button-downs.

“Oh, you do. Especially since we started yoga,” Audrey waved off as she searched in the closet.

“I mean, it’s not mine or even Oliver’s- his entire job is basically leg day- but for a twink, it’s not bad,” Felicity said.

“I’m not a twink!” Percy said defensively.

Audrey and Felicity stopped what they were doing and looked at each other. Simultaneously, they went, “Ehhhh.”

“I have a master’s degree!”

“So you’re a nerdy twink,” Audrey said. “Aha! Found it!” She removed the gray suit from the closet and proudly waved it.

“Not a bad color. Lightweight. Good for summer,” Felicity said while surveying the suit.

“Strip!” Audrey said, shoving the suit to Percy.

“What do I wear with it?” Percy asked.

“How about….ooh! This shirt and this waistcoat!” Audrey said as she handed him a floral button down that had various shades of purple and blue and a royal blue waistcoat. 

“Shouldn’t I try to wear something a bit more, I don’t know, sexy?” Percy asked as he stripped down and put on the offered clothes.

“I doubt you’ll be sleeping together on the first date,” Felicity said.

“Thanks,” Percy said sarcastically.

“I was referring to the fact that you told us Oliver hadn’t even kissed anyone before. I doubt he’s ready to have sex,” Felicity said.

“That’s fair, I suppose,” Percy conceded. He finished buttoning the clothes and did a little turn. “How does this look?”

The two women surveyed him. Percy felt himself shrink under their gaze.

“I don’t hate it, but I don’t love it either,” Felicity said carefully.

Audrey’s brows furrowed in thought. “I see what you mean,” she said. 

“Let me look again,” Felicity said and turned back to the closet.

“Is it really that bad?” Percy asked Audrey.

“No, it’s fine. It just doesn’t have that wow effect that we want,” Audrey placated. 

“Hold the phone!” Felicity yelled out. She stepped out of the closet holding a hanger. “You mean to tell me you have a floral bomber jacket and that wasn’t your immediate choice for seeing this show? It’s nice quality too. How do you even have this?!”

“It was a Christmas gift from one of my brothers. It’s not really my style,” Percy said shrugging. The twins had gotten it for him. With the high-quality fabric, delicately stitched and beaded embroidery, and perfect tailoring, Percy was certain it was expensive. It didn’t have any tags and Fred refused to say where he got it. Percy _knew_ it was bespoke. The fact that his doublet from the Renaissance video had gone missing for a few weeks also was another clue. He tried telling them that he couldn’t accept something like that, but the twins waved him off saying that their Renaissance video had changed their channel perspective and they wanted to thank him. Begrudgingly, Percy accepted it.

“We’re going to work on expanding your style,” Felicity said

Audrey stepped in between her friend and her partner. She examined the jacket as well. After a moment, she turned to Percy. “Not that we don’t love the gay academic vibe you usually have, but this would be a super fun look,” Audrey said, “Plus, it’s red and white roses. It looks kind of Renaissance-y. It’ll be a fun wink to the Tudors.”

“You wanted sexy, didn’t you?” Felicity teased.

The jacket tempted him. Yes, it was a bit extra and, quite frankly, a little heavy with some of the beading, but it also beautiful. The tiny floral-patterned embroidery reminded him of things he’d seen at work.

“Ugh, fine,” Percy sighed. “But what do I even wear with it?”

“Those trousers are fine, but don’t you have a charcoal pair of trousers around here?” Felicity asked.

Percy parsed through his trouser collection and found a pair. “These are a slimmer cut,” he said. 

“Good. Babe, white or red shirt?” Felicity asked Audrey.

Audrey thought for a moment. “White shirt. Button down.”

“I think that sounds right,” Felicity said.

“Oh! And don’t you have a pair of oxblood red brogues?” Audrey asked.

“Yeah they’re over-“

A knock sounded at the door. Charlie peeked his head in and said, “Hey Perce, I just back from the gym and what on earth happened in here?” He opened the door further and stood in the threshold. His eyes were wide looking at the mess around the room.

Felicity, Audrey, and Percy looked at each other awkwardly. “Um,” Percy said, “Felicity and Audrey are helping me find an outfit for a date tomorrow.”

“A date with whom?” Charlie asked carefully.

Percy considered for a moment to lash out defensively, but Charlie would certainly figure it out the next day. “Oliver Wood,” he mumbled.

“I don’t think I heard you right. Did you just say Oliver Wood?” Charlie teased.

“You heard me!” Percy snapped. 

“I knew something happened on Wednesday night!” Charlie shouted in glee, “I can’t wait to tell everyone else about this!”

“Please don’t!” Percy begged. “Let me be the one to tell everyone after this date. I want to keep this to myself for a few days. You know how involved everyone can get.”

Charlie looked at his brother sympathetically. “All right. I’ll keep quiet for a few days,” he said, “The reason I can in here is to ask if my D and D group can play here tomorrow. We wanted to take turns hosting.”

“You decided to ask me _today_?” Percy asked.

“Do you even know your brother?” Audrey asked, speaking up for the first time since Charlie barged in on them, “You have to give him advance notice on stuff like this.”

“I know. I know. I’ll do the cleaning beforehand and afterward,” Charlie said, “We’ll stay out of your hair. And if you’re going to be gone in the evening, you’ll barely even see us. I assume your date is tomorrow night?”

“It is,” Percy said.

“How about this,” Charlie said, “I will keep quiet about your date and keep my group quiet about your date if you let them come over.”

“And keep things clean,” Percy prompted.

“And keep things clean,” Charlie agreed.

“Ugh, fine. Just give me more advance notice next time,” Percy said.

“Will do. I’ll leave you to it,” Charlie said, “Good to see you, Felicity. Audrey.”

“Okay, goodbye,” Percy said while pushing Charlie out the door.

“But don’t you want my help? Khakis and zoo polos are always very in,” Charlie teased.

“ _Goodbye_ Charles,” Percy said and slammed the door in Charlie’s face. 

* * *

Saturday morning passed in its normal way: yoga with Audrey and then depositing her back home bouncing off the walls due to her post-yoga cappuccino. She claimed she had a lesson with a rambunctious little girl early that afternoon and needed the coffee to keep up.

Percy’s post-yoga, pre-date distraction was a surprise text from Bill.

**Bill:** _Can we talk?_

**Percy:** _Sure. What about?_

The three dots indicating Bill was typing stayed up for a few minutes. Percy had no idea what Bill would even want to talk to him about. While they had grown closer after Percy grew into adulthood, they weren’t Bill and Charlie’s level of close. He figured it had something to do with work.

**Bill:** _So I met the translator for the archeologists. Her name is Fleur. She’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen and she’s a former figure skater. She had to stop due to injury. But she’s very smart and so cool and I think I’m into her. What should I do?_

**Percy:** _First off, she isn’t a student, is she?_

**Bill:** _Oh, God, no. I would NEVER date a student. You should know that. I believe she said she has a master’s in comparative languages. I think she’s somewhere around your age? Mid-twenties._

**Percy:** _I was just checking. Second question: Would you get in trouble for getting into a relationship with her? I know some jobs have a no dating policy._

**Bill:** _I don’t think so. I’d have to double check. Most digs I’ve been to don’t make a big deal out of dating as long as you are in equal positions of power._

**Percy:** _Why are you even asking me for dating advice anyway? Wouldn’t Ginny be a better option? Or one of the twins?_

**Bill:** _I’m not asking our little sister for dating advice. I’m ten years older than her. We barely get the same references. And the twins would just say go for it. I need someone with sense to keep me in check. I tend to jump into these things and it usually doesn’t go well._

**Percy:** _Charlie told me about Emily Tyler._

**Bill:** _Ugh. Let’s not talk about that._

**Percy:** _Well, after you establish whether or not you’re allowed to date her, I would suggest asking her if she’d like to get coffee or a pint or something casual. Just to get to know her better, not as a date. You’ve known this woman less than a week. Don’t get ahead of yourself. Also, is it a smart idea to date the person in charge of your communication? What it if goes wrong?_

**Bill:** _Fair points. But I have a good feeling about this. Besides, my French is decent enough to get by. I’ll ask her to coffee. Thanks, mate._

**Bill:** _How are things going on your end?_

Percy debated whether or not to tell Bill about his date with Oliver. Bill did open up to him and he seemed unlikely to gossip. However, Bill would occasionally let things slip. There was the chance the Charlie had already told Bill about Percy’s news. He decided to go for it. It wasn’t Bill’s reaction that he was worried about. Well, he wasn’t worried about everyone else’s reaction per se; it was more concern on how embarrassing they will be. 

**Percy:** _Good. Oliver and I are actually going on a date tonight._

**Percy:** _Please keep this to yourself for a while. I don’t want the younger ones to gloat right now._

**Bill:** _I knew he liked you! And your secret is safe with me. I assume Charlie knows?_

**Percy:** _Yeah. I kind of had to tell him._

**Bill:** _So how did this happen?_

Percy gave Bill a short run down of what happened with Oliver, but he left out the whole wet clothes thing. Bill didn’t need to know that. He might not be as crass as the twins, but Percy didn’t want to risk embarrassment. Eventually, Bill let him go prep for his date. 

Percy was glad that he had Felicity and Audrey help pick an outfit the night before. At least he wouldn’t be spending his time freaking out about what to wear. It did, however, give Percy ample opportunity to freak out about his hair. There were days when Percy hated his hair. The loathing was much more frequent when Percy was a kid as it was the proverbial flame that attracted bullies. As an adult, he more or less accepted the color. It was the damn curls that caused him a headache. Sometimes they truly didn’t want to work with him. Fortunately, this day they accepted Percy’s gentle coaxing to lay in their desired positions. He cleaned his glasses before stepping out of the loo.

Charlie had done as promised and cleaned the flat. Not that it was a much of a mess to begin with but dusting and vacuuming were necessary precautions that probably didn’t get done as much as they should. The area around Xena’s litter box was probably the biggest example of this. She was a bit of a digger. 

Percy finally braved the rest of the flat and discovered Charlie wiping down the kitchen counters.

“Is that the jacket the twins got you for Christmas?” Charlie asked when he finally noticed his younger brother.

“It is. I’m not sure if it’s my style, but Felicity and Audrey suggested it,” Percy said awkwardly.

“No, no, no, I like it. You look very smart,” Charlie said, “I’ll have to take a pic of it to prove that you actually wore it.”

Percy groaned.

“Hey, genius, you’ll want to have photos from your first date, won’t you? I promise I want share them,” Charlie said.

“Maybe,” Percy said hesitantly. He looked around the clean flat. “So are your guests not eating or anything? I don’t see much in terms of snacks.”

“Oh, the deal is the host hosts, Sammy brings the board and supplies as she’s the DM, and everyone else brings food,” Charlie explained.

“And how many people are going to be here?” Percy asked. He’d played Dungeon and Dragons a few times in uni, but it was only with a group of four. He had no idea how many people were apart of Charlie’s campaign. The whole stress of the date had made him overlook asking about that detail.

“Me, Sammy, and then there’s three other people in this group.”

“And are they all demi or ace?”

“Liz is ace. I don’t know if you remember her from school, but she and I were kinda in the same circle? Lived in Slytherin House, in my year. We work together now. She’s in reptiles with Sammy.”

“Was she the one who had a hunger strike protesting the lack of vegan meal options?”

“That would be her, yeah,” Charlie said, “The other two I don’t know very well. I just met them a few weeks ago. They don’t work at the zoo. I think they’re Sammy’s friends from uni? Sage is nonbinary and I think is both ace and aro. And I want to say Jordan is demi? He could be ace. I’m not sure. I don’t know what either of them do for a living but they’re both very nice.”

“As long as they don’t destroy the place and we don’t get a noise complaint, I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

“I will keep an eye on things, I promise.” 

There was a knock on the door.

“Are you expecting someone, or would that be Oliver?” Percy asked.

Charlie looked at the time and shrugged. “It could be Sam.”

“I guess I’ll get it.,” Percy said, “Coming!”

Behind the door wasn’t a stranger; it was Oliver. He beamed as soon as he saw Percy.

“Wow, you look fantastic,” he said and leaned over and gave Percy a kiss on the cheek.

“You look great too,” Percy said. Damn, Oliver cleaned up good. He was brave enough to wear white trousers. His blue plaid button down had the first few buttons undone, exposing a some of Oliver’s collarbone and a sliver of deliciously tanned skin. The look was capped off with a light gray blazer that highlighted his wide shoulders.

“I got you some flowers,” Oliver said. He offered Percy a bouquet of colorful blooms. Percy felt his insides warm.

“Oh, wow, no one has ever given me flowers before. Well, except Ginny when she dug up the garden as a toddler. Thank you. You’re very sweet,” Percy said and kissed Oliver on the cheek. “Come on in while I find something to put these in.”

“I’m glad you like them. The lady at the shop suggested the arrangement. I know nothing about flower theory,” Oliver said bashfully as he followed Percy in the flat.

“Oh, no one does really. Other than florists and historians who specialize in, like, the Victorian Era,” Percy said. He reached the kitchen where Charlie was organizing. “Do we have a vase, Charlie?”

Charlie scrunched his face up in thought. “A vase? No offense, but that seems like something you would know more about. I can’t think of anywhere we would have one.”

“I can’t think of anyplace either,” Percy’s voice was laced with disappointment, “Surely we must have something where we can place these flowers Oliver got me?”

After the three of them thought for a moment, Oliver spoke up, “I knew I was being silly-“

A gasp interrupted him. “How about this wine bottle? It’s almost empty,” Charlie said as he grabbed a large bottle of pinot grigio sitting on the counter.

“That should work!” Percy said, “Just empty the last of it and clean it out.”

“You guys shouldn’t have to waste wine over me,” Oliver said.

“Dude, there’s not even a cork in this wine. It’s a screwcap,” Charlie pointed out as he twisted off the top. He then took a large gulp, emptying the bottle.

“That’s not exactly what I meant by empty it, but whatever,” Percy said dryly. Charlie shrugged as he ran the bottle under the tap a few times. Percy turned to his date, “Ollie, it’s absurdly cheap wine from Tesco’s. Besides, there was less than a glass’s worth in it. It’s fine.” 

Charlie handed the half-filled wine bottle over to Percy. “Here you go, good sir.”

Percy carefully put the bouquet stems in the bottle. They fit perfectly. “See it works,” Percy said, “I’m going to put this on my desk, so the cat doesn’t bat it off the counter or something.”

“She’s currently in my room, but good idea for later,” Charlie said.

Percy quickly put the makeshift vase on the desk in his bedroom and went back to the kitchen. Charlie and Oliver were chatting about Charlie’s Dungeons and Dragons campaign. 

“Ready to go?” Percy asked.

“Yeah,” Oliver said.

“Hold on, hold on. I have ta get a pic of you two before you leave,” Charlie said while pulling out his phone.

Percy groaned again, “God, really? We aren’t teenagers.”

“No one would ever forgive me if I knowingly let this moment pass. Mum would legit kill me, you know,” Charlie explained.

“C’mon, Perce, I don’t mind,” Oliver teased.

“Fine,” Percy sighed as he stepped closer to Oliver. Oliver grabbed his hand, pulled him closer, and pecked him on the lips. Percy smiled. “C’mon, Coverboy, let’s get this over with,” Percy joked.

Oliver laughed as Percy adjusted himself to stand next to him. As Percy put a hand on Oliver’s back, Oliver draped his arm, so his hand was on Percy’s hip.

“Smile,” Charlie said. After a few moments of silent posing, Charlie let them go, “OK, I think I got it.”

“Can you text that to me?” Oliver asked. He rattled off his mobile number while Percy waited. Once he was done, he turned back to Percy. “Ready?”

“Yeah. Let’s go,” Percy said.

“Have fun! If you’re staying out later than midnight, let me know!” Charlie yelled as they reached the door.

“Will do!” Percy yelled back, “Have fun killing an ogre or whatever! Don’t destroy the place!”

“Bye Charlie! I’ll make sure your brother gets home safely!” Oliver added.

As they walked toward the tube station, Oliver asked a question, “So. Is the not wanting to take a photo thing a general thing or a me specific thing?”

“Um, that’s pretty direct,” Percy said. It didn’t necessarily surprise him as Oliver had rarely beat around the bush. “It’s not a you-thing, don’t worry. I just don’t like the way I look in photographs, that’s all.”

“Why? I mean, you record stuff with your brothers all the time. What’s the difference?”

“Well, they pay me for one and two I can keep an eye on them. But I don’t think I’m particularly attractive.”

Oliver stopped in his tracks. “You’re barmy.”

“What?” Percy asked.

“I think anyone with eyes can see you’re bloody gorgeous,” Oliver said, “I _know_ multiple people have said it.”

“Bullocks,” Percy dismissed. He continued walking.

“I’m serious,” Oliver said, catching up, “Lee and I had a bloody fifteen-minute conversation about it. Felicity added some things too.”

“Why? I’m gangly and angular and covered in freckles.”

“Yeah, when you were going through puberty,” Oliver said, “But you’ve filled out and grown up since then. I about died when you sent that photo of yourself. You’re a very pretty bloke, you know that, right? Like a Ben Whishaw or Eddie Redmayne. I’ve been obsessed with your hair forever and I’ve legit gotten lost in your eyes before. Before I even knew I am gay. And you’re so lithe when you move. Me? I clunk around like a dumb jock, but you move with grace.”

Percy could feel himself blush. “I’m not but thank you,” he said quietly.

“Oh, it’s going to be my job to get it through that thick skull of yours on how lovely you are,” Oliver said.

Percy didn’t doubt that Oliver would keep at it. He was stubborn like that. 

“We’re up here,” Percy led Oliver to the station.

Given that it was an early Saturday evening, the tube was packed. Percy hated living near the Piccadilly line as there were always travelers from Heathrow taking up space and not following proper tube etiquette. Fortunately, Percy and Oliver were able to find a pole in a relatively empty and quiet car near the back of the train.

“Do people ever notice you in public, traveling like this?” Percy whispered to Oliver.

“Occasionally. Half the time I’m looking on my phone or reading or something, so I don’t even pick up on it. Most folks don’t recognize me out of my kit anyway,” Oliver whispered back.

“Do you think more people will recognize you now?” Percy asked.

“Possibly. Most people tend to leave me alone anyway.”

For a while, they whispered comments back and forth. As the car filled up, they became quiet. Despite the silence, Oliver would lightly brush his hand against Percy’s and vice versa. They shared smiles too. Percy never expected himself to be the type to flirt using public transportation. It was all very silly. But nice.

At one point halfway through the trip, Percy peaked around the car. He noticed a pair of eyes staring at them. A boy who Percy figured was probably around nine years-old was looking in their direction with wide eyes. The woman he assumed was the kid’s mum wasn’t paying attention to him. If she had, she probably would have told him to stop staring. 

“Psst. We have a looker, three o’clock,” he whispered to Oliver.

Oliver glanced to the side. “Kid on the last seat?” he muttered back.

Percy nodded. “Poor thing looks starstruck.”

“It happens,” Oliver said, “I once got stopped at Boots by a group of teenagers while I was buying deodorant. Half of them just stared at me with their mouths hanging open.”

“You live a weird life,” Percy said.

“Says the man whose brothers are professional YouTubers,” Oliver cracked with a grin.

“Touché.”

Eventually, they arrived at their destination. As Percy and Oliver walked toward the exit of the station, a voice stopped them. 

“E-e-excuse me? Are you Oliver W-w-wood?”

Percy and Oliver turned around. It was the boy from the tube. Quite frankly, he looked a bit terrified. Fortunately, his mother was standing behind him.

“We’re so sorry to bother you, sir, but I couldn’t stop him,” the lady said. Now that they were closer, Percy could see that the two of them were dressed up. They were probably seeing something on the West End.

“That’s me. Who are you?” Oliver asked kindly.

“M-my name is Ian. And I’m a big fan of yours! I’ve watched all your interviews the past couple weeks.” As he talked more and saw that Oliver wasn’t actually terrifying, the boy warmed up.

“Really?” Oliver asked. 

“Uh-huh. OH! And you’re the brother from the YouTube video!” Ian said excitedly.

“I am,” Percy said. At first, he thought they hadn’t come out yet, but then he remembered Fred texting him on Friday the first one was out. 

“Mr. Wood, can I have your autograph?” 

“Of course!” Oliver said, “Do you have something for me to sign?”

“I have an autograph book! I take it with me to shows!” Ian exclaimed. 

“That’s very clever,” Oliver said as he took the offered pen and book, “Are you seeing something tonight?”

“We’re going to see _Aladdin_! It’s a gift for my good grades in school.”

“I’ve heard that’s very good. And good job getting good grades, Ian,” Oliver said. He handed back the book and pen with a smile. 

As the boy read what Oliver had written, the mother leaned in. “Thank you for doing this,” she said, “Ian’s a bit… different from the boys in his school. He’s been talking about you nonstop since you came out. It really means a lot to him.”

Percy watched as Oliver schooled his expression. He could tell Oliver was starting to tear up. Hell, Percy was too. “It’s no problem, ma’am. Kids like him are why I came out in the first place.”

“Now, Ian, what do we say?” the mother asked her son.

“Thank you!” The kid beamed up at them.

“You’re welcome,” Oliver said, “And it was nice to meet you, Ian! Have fun at your show.”

“Come on, mister, we’ve bothered these men long enough. We don’t want to miss our dinner. Thank you again gentlemen.” 

“Bye!” the energetic kid waved as his mother started to drag him through the station.

Percy and Oliver waved back. 

“That was sweet,” Percy said as they continued to walk toward the turnstiles themselves.

“Yeah,” Oliver said bashfully, “I don’t think I’ll ever tire of that. I suppose.” He tapped his Oyster card to exit. Percy followed.

“Adoring fans?” Percy joked.

“You know what I mean,” Oliver said. “Restaurant is this way.” He led Percy down the street.

“Of course I know,” Percy said, “Just trying to lighten the mood.”

“Man, I wish we had more gay role models growing up,” Oliver said.

“Me too.”

“I hope Ian’s generation is a lot more accepting than even ours.”

“Well, I think with people like you as their role models, they’re off to a good start,” Percy said as he nudged Oliver with his shoulder.

“Thanks,” Oliver said. After a moment, he gave a big sigh and put an arm around Percy’s shoulders. “But let’s not dwell on what could have been. Tonight, it’s about me and you having fun, right?”

“Right,” Percy agreed. “I hope you know where you’re going.”

“I may have taken this route yesterday while you were at work,” Oliver admitted. 

Percy laughed. “You’re the barmy one!”

“Yeah, but I think we knew that. Would you rather we got lost?”

Earlier in the week, they agreed to eat in Chinatown. The place they picked was close to the theater and not too pricy. True to his word, Oliver found it easily.

After ordering and engaging in some small talk about their past few days, Oliver asked, “So what are you doing next weekend?”

“Bold of you to assume I’ll want to see you next weekend,” Percy teased.

“I like my odds,” Oliver flirted back.

Percy became flustered at Oliver’s intense look. “Um, actually, Ron is graduating from uni next weekend. Mum wants as many of us as we can to see him graduate. Bill’s the only one that can’t.”

“Oh, okay,” Oliver said, “Where does he go?”

“University of Derby. Their culinary school is pretty good,” Percy explained.

“Well, tell him I said congrats. I’ll find something to do,” Oliver said.

“You could see if Audrey is available to help you redecorate your place,” Percy pointed out.

“Good idea!” Oliver exclaimed, “And I’ll be sure to send you stuff for your opinions, if you’re not too busy.”

“Sure. I don’t know if you’ve ever sat through a uni graduation ceremony, but they are endless.”

“Speaking of uni, I’m curious. Did the twins ever go?” Oliver asked.

“In a way, yes?” Percy said, “You might now believe this, but I swear to God, they went to circus school. It wasn’t like a three-year thing. I think it was only one. But they were professional clowns before they got famous.”

“I’m sorry, what?!” Oliver shouted with glee.

“Yeah, they were like birthday clowns for a few years. Good at it too. They can both juggle and ride a unicycle and actually jump through hoops. And they got _commedia_ schooling too.”

At Oliver’s confused looked, Percy explained, “ _Commedia dell’arte_ is like Italian Renaissance improv theatre. There’s stock characters and masks and physical comedy. They traveled around the US to different Renaissance fairs with a group for an entire summer. They’ve been secretly hoping that the RSC or the Globe will contact them to do _Comedy of Errors_ at some point.”

“And they never talk about this?” Oliver asked.

“Nope,” Percy said, “Actually, they were planning on doing a series on the history of clowns before George got injured. So who knows if it will actually happen.”

“And I thought Fred and George couldn’t be more surprising.” As Oliver said this, their food arrived. 

“Always expect the unexpected with them,” Percy said. He took a bite and then asked, “So when we were filming, you said there was a story behind your tattoo. Are you comfortable sharing it with me?”

“Oh, yeah,” Oliver said, “It actually has to do with my sister. That’s why I didn’t want to talk about it on camera. After I had my big coming out to her, she suggested we get matching tattoos. Her husband- remember he’s a tattoo artist- did it. The ivy is for Matilda because she’s resilient. The dahlias are, obviously, for her daughter Dahlia. The pansies are, um, for me because that’s what my dad would call me a pansy when he thought I was being too ‘feminine’. I wanted to reclaim it. They’re beautiful flowers. The sword is for the bond we’ve forged.”

Percy had vague recollections of the pansy thing, but he hadn’t thought about it in years. Instead of bringing it up, he asked, “Your brother-in-law isn’t represented?”

“Well, Thor designed and actually did it. He considered it representation enough. Anyway, he felt that it wasn’t his place if it’s something for me and my sister.”

“Ah, that makes sense.”

“Are you sure I can’t convince you to get a tattoo? You’re practically a blank canvas,” Oliver said.

“I’m not kidding about the needle thing. They _terrify_ me. I had to donate blood after George’s car accident because we’re the same blood type and I almost passed out,” Percy said.

“ _Jesus._ So you won’t be there to hold my hand when I get my next tattoo?” Oliver waggled his eyebrows at Percy.

“I’m sure I can be convinced to do that,” Percy flirted back.

Oliver gave him a positively wicked smile. “Good.”

* * *

_Six_ was very good. It combined some of Percy’s weak spots: the six wives of Henry VIII and pop divas. He loved that Anne of Cleves got a party song. Even Oliver seemed to enjoy it. On the tube ride home, Oliver asked a million questions about the six wives. 

“Would you like me to give you a reading list?” Percy asked sincerely at one point.

“Actually, yeah,” Oliver said, “Or let me borrow some books? I never really got into this at school. Binns was so boring.”

“I know, it’s a shame. I’ve always found history interesting despite Binns’ flaws. Obviously. But I think it’s possible for you to borrow some books,” Percy said, “If you walk home with me, I can grab one for you.”

“I was always planning on walking you home,” Oliver said.

“You’re so chivalrous,” Percy said.

Oliver played with one of Percy’s curls and chuckled. “You like that I’m a gentleman,” he said.

Percy gulped. “Yeah, I do.” Sad to say, but Percy had never dated a kind boy. The dalliances of his late teens and early twenties weren’t like what he had with Oliver. None of them would have listen to him rattle on about history with genuine interest or ask for reading suggestions. They wouldn’t walk him to his door at night or ask about his family. Maybe it was too early- certainly it was too early- but Percy was beginning to genuinely fall in love with Oliver. It was possible that Percy had always loved Oliver. He definitely developed a fondness for Oliver during their school days that was unlike the way he felt for anyone else. Before Percy could spill his guts on the Piccadilly line- of all things- his mobile buzzed in his pocket.

**Audrey:** _Sorry to interrupt your date, but can you come over tomorrow to help with wedding stuff? It’s an EMERGENCY!_

“What’s up?” Oliver asked.

“Audrey is texting me. There’s some sort of wedding-planning emergency. She wants me to come over tomorrow,” Percy said.

“Can I help? I’m good with plans,” Oliver asked, “And I’m free all day.”

“Let me ask.”

**Percy:** _Can Ollie come over too? He’s volunteered to help._

**Audrey:** _Yeah! That would be great!!!_

**Audrey:** _I have a few lessons in the morning. Can you both come over in the afternoon?_

Percy passed on the message. Oliver didn’t care on the time.

**Percy:** _We’re both available any time in the afternoon._

**Audrey:** _Come over around 3-ish? Again, I’m so so so sorry for interrupting your date._

**Percy:** _It’s fine. We’re on our way home. See you tomorrow._

After Percy put his mobile back up, the two of them speculated what the possible emergency might be. They figured it had to do something with family availability. 

The closer they got to Percy’s stop, the emptier the car became. Eventually they were able to sit down. During their conversation, Oliver casually put his arm around Percy. It stayed there until they had to leave.

* * *

As they walked into the Weasley brothers’ flat, a feminine voice could be heard saying, “…roll for initiative. That sounded like a door?”

“My brother is probably home,” Charlie said.

“Sounds like Charlie’s friends are still here,” Percy whispered to Oliver. There was a sound of dice clattering on the table as Percy and Oliver walked further into the flat. Charlie stopped them before they could reach Percy’s bedroom.

“Hey guys! Back so soon?” Charlie asked. The group of strangers huddled around the table turned to face them.

“Yes, it was a short show. It runs without an intermission,” Percy said.

“Oh, OK,” Charlie said, “What was it called again? Was it any good?”

“ _Six_ ,” Percy said, “We both enjoyed it.”

“It was like Henry VIII’s wives turned into the Spice Girls,” Oliver explained.

“Oh my gosh, I’ve been wanting to see that,” the owner of the feminine voice from earlier said. 

“I’m not a Tudor buff like Perce is,” Oliver said, “But I want to learn more about them now. He’s letting me borrow some books.”

“Cool,” Charlie said. He looked around the group. “Oh! Let me introduce everyone. The redhead is, of course, my younger brother Percy. That’s his friend Oliver Wood. Perce and Wood, this is Sammy, Liz- you might remember her from school, Sage, and Jordan.”

All of them waved or gave some form of greeting. 

“Wait,” the bloke Charlie introduced as Jordan said, “Oliver Wood? Like rugby player Oliver Wood? The one who came out as gay, Oliver Wood?”

“That’s me,” Oliver said awkwardly.

“Wood and I played rugby together in school,” Charlie explained, “But he was Percy’s roommate.”

“We won’t bother you folks any longer. I know you have some sort of monster to fight,” Percy said, dying to escape the awkwardness, “I’m going to take Oliver to my room and grab some books for him. Nice meeting you all.”

“Nice to meet you too!” Sammy said. She was the owner of the voice from earlier. “I’m just gonna have them do this fight and we should be done for the night. It shouldn’t take too long. Hopefully.”

“Cheers,” Percy said and grabbed Oliver’s hand, “C’mon Ollie.” He practically dragged Oliver down the hall.

Once they were in Percy’s room with the door shut, Oliver asked, “You okay?”

“I’m fine. I’m just not good at small talk with strangers,” Percy said, “Also, we haven’t been alone all evening…”

Oliver grinned as he stepped closer into Percy’s space. “Percy, do you want to kiss me?” he teased.

“Yes. Very much so,” Percy said. He took the last few steps that kept them apart, leaned slightly down, and kissed Oliver.

The kiss started out sweet: just a simple press of lips together. It quickly delved into something more passionate. Oliver seemed desperate to prove how much he was willing to not only improve but also to impress Percy. He followed Percy’s lead and adapted to Percy’s responses. Little moans became desperate. Light touches turned to strong grasps. Percy wondered how Oliver could be so sweet and so strong.

A loud cheer from the other side of the door shot them back into reality. They couldn’t go too far. Not tonight. Not with Charlie and his friends still in the flat. And Oliver was still so new to this.

Both of them took large gulps of air after they separated. Oliver flopped on Percy’s bed, smiling like a maniac. Percy couldn’t help but to laugh too.

“Am I getting better, darling?” Oliver asked lightly. He looked quite at home on Percy’s bed. Percy had to keep himself from swooning.

“A for effort,” Percy said breathlessly, “But always room for improvement.”

“And is there any way for me to get extra credit?” Oliver teased.

“There is, actually.” Percy searched the bookshelf for the reason he came into his room in the first place. He handed Oliver a copy of Eric Ives’s _The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn_.

“Jesus, this is massive,” Oliver said while idling through the nearly 500-page tome. “You’ve really read all this?”

Percy nodded. “It’s one of the best books on Anne Boleyn. Gives you a good place to start,” Percy said.

“I thought we’d start with- what’s his name- Starkers?” Oliver asked.

“I assume you mean David Starkey?” Percy said, “He’s obnoxious. Like sexist obnoxious. And a bit racist too.”

“Got it,” Oliver said.

“You might have figured this out during the show, but all historians have their favorites of the wives and pit them against each other. That’s why I don’t really want to point you to a book that tackles all of them. It’s usually Cleves or Howard that gets the shortest end of the stick. Howard especially. But there’s always the Aragon versus Boleyn stories that get ugly. I’d also suggest Lucy Worsley’s mini-series for a more open portrayal. And I’m not just saying that because she’s technically my boss.”

“We could watch it together, couldn’t we?” Oliver asked.

“Yeah, we can find a time to do that. Maybe not tomorrow depending on the level of disaster Audrey and Felicity are facing, but sometime soon,” Percy said.

“I’m gonna hold you to that,” Oliver said while getting off the bed and stalking toward Percy, “Besides, it’ll be nice having a date with you where I have you all to myself.” He kissed Percy gently. Instead of fully separating, Percy lightly rubbed his nose against Oliver’s.

“We should probably get you home, shouldn’t we?” Percy said disappointedly. 

Oliver sighed. “Unfortunately, yeah. Don’t want your brother to think I’ve besmirched your honor while he was playing Dungeons and Dragons in the other room.”

“I know you’re joking, but oh my god, can you imagine?” Percy laughed, “I’d never live it down.”

Oliver burst into hysterical giggles. “Oh no, that would be my favorite story ever.”

After they took a moment to let the laughter die down, Percy gave Oliver a kiss on the cheek. “Come on, let’s get you home before you have to wait forever for public transport.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was originally going to be longer, but I am still working on it and I am directing a play that's going to open this month and I wanted to get something out (never mind this was already getting fairly long.) 
> 
> I hope you all liked this chapter! Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So March has been weird... How is everyone doing? Is everyone OK? My show got postponed until who knows when. I've been playing a lot of Animal Crossing.
> 
> This was going to be longer, but I felt the next section would take longer to write, so I decided to share what I have. I've been working on this section for a while anyway.
> 
> As always, this has not been beta'd or Brit-picked. I don't own Harry Potter.
> 
> Please Enjoy!

“Percy! Oliver! Thank God you’re here!” Audrey yelled as the door to her flat flew open. She hugged both of them before ushering them inside.

“It’s no problem,” Percy said, “We’ll help you come up with something. Even if it’s at the registrar’s office.”

“It’s so good to see you, Ollie,” Audrey said, “Congratulations, by the way!”

“For what?” Oliver asked.

“Coming out, of course,” Audrey chirped, “Also landing that one.”

“Thanks?” Oliver said. He surveyed the living room and kitchen as Percy greeted Felicity. “OK, so Percy wasn’t kidding about the interior design stuff,” Oliver noted.

“What did you say about my interior designing skills?” Audrey sharply asked Percy.

“Calm down. I just said that you liked interior design,” Percy said as he took a seat on the lavender sofa and took an iPad out of his messenger bag, “His house is pretty bare. I was suggesting he talk to you.”

“Wood, I’d be careful if I were you,” Felicity jokingly warned, “She has some wild ideas and is hard to say no to. It’s the puppy dog eyes and the enthusiasm.”

Audrey gasped, “My lover disparaging me! Do you hear this?!”

“Oh, hush you,” Felicity murmured and kissed Audrey on the cheek. She then turned to Percy and Oliver, “Do you want anything to drink?”

“Just water for me,” Oliver said as he plopped on the sofa next to Percy.

“Coffee?” Percy asked.

“Got it,” Felicity said and headed into the kitchen. 

Audrey sat crossed legged in one of the armchairs. In her short dungarees, striped t-shirt, and no makeup, she could easily be mistaken for a young teenager. She smiled at the two men. “I’m so happy for you,” she said.

“We’re still really new to this, Aud,” Percy said, “My family doesn’t even know yet. Except Charlie. And Bill.” At Audrey’s eyebrow waggle, Percy blushed and corrected, “Not like that! Oliver just picked me up yesterday.”

“I gave him flowers,” Oliver said proudly.

“Nice!” Audrey said, leaning over to give Oliver a high five.

“Most of Charlie’s D and D group saw us together,” Percy said while rolling his eyes, “I had to get Charlie to promise not to tell anyone.”

Felicity came back in that moment with a tray laden with drinks. “Not to tell what?” she asked as she passed out drinks.

“Oh, I had to get Charlie to promise not to tell our family that Oliver and I went out last night on a date,” Percy said, “I’d like to have this moment for myself for a few days.”

“Fair enough,” Audrey said.

“So what brings us here today?” Oliver asked.

“Percy told you about us being engaged, right?” Felicity asked.

“Yes. And that you’re having issues planning a wedding? But I don’t know the specifics,” Oliver said. 

“In fairness, neither do I,” Percy said. 

Felicity took a sip of coffee and placed it on the side table. “OK. So English marriage laws are fucking stupid we’ve found out. You have to tell them 29 days in advance, which whatever. Fine. If we’re having a religious ceremony, it’ll have to be a Jewish ceremony because we can’t marry in the Church of England, which fucking shocker there.” Felicity rolled her eyes.

Percy hummed in acknowledgment. The Church of England wasn’t exactly progressive; they all knew that.

“But even if we _wanted_ to have a Jewish ceremony, it’ll have to happen at a temple. Because religious weddings can only happen at a place of worship,” Audrey added.

“That’s oddly specific,” Oliver said.

“Oh, it gets worse!” Audrey said, “In order to have a civil marriage, you can’t just get married wherever. It has to be at either the registrar’s office or from a list of _pre-approved_ venues. Most of them are like hotels and stately homes.”

“And there can be no religious things happening in it. At all. Like depending on your registrar, they might not let you have certain songs,” Felicity said.

“Oh! And we can’t do the holiday wedding plan because my parents are taking a cruise around the Mediterranean in the fall and they’re both using up all of their holiday time. Bastards,” Audrey huffed.

“I’m sorry,” Percy said.

“So what I’m hearing,” Oliver said, “is that your options are fuck the original idea and plan an actual wedding-wedding, which we all agree seems like a possibly bad idea because of both of your extended families?”

“And the stress will probably kill Audrey specifically, but all of us probably generally,” Felicity added.

“Yeah, let’s please not do that,” Audrey said.

“Or,” Oliver said, “We find a stately home or hotel that is available in a short amount of time and willing to do this secret wedding idea. I assume under the guise of an engagement party or engagement dinner?”

“The engagement party idea isn’t a bad one,” Felicity said.

“But the location seems like a long shot?” Audrey pointed out.

“Yeah,” Oliver said.

“We can go to Gretna Green and _actually_ elope and deal with what follows,” Felicity said unenthusiastically. 

“ _Or_ ,” Percy said, “You can get married at the registrar’s office and we tell your family you’re having an engagement dinner and we have a fake wedding ceremony at a location that would agree to let us have one?”

“Like a Humanist wedding?” Audrey asked, perking up.

“Yeah, I guess,” Percy said.

“What’s a Humanist wedding?” Oliver asked.

“So the Humanists are a group of people who are basically fun Atheists? Like, the believe in the goodness of people or whatever but don’t believe in a god or an afterlife,” Audrey said.

“They also do wedding ceremonies for people who don’t want to have a religious wedding or who don’t want to follow the _very_ strict civil ceremony rules. But they aren’t legally binding,” Felicity explained, “Most people who have them get legally married either earlier or later.”

“Got it.” ~~~~

“What’s needed for a civil wedding at the registrar’s office?” Percy asked.

“Twenty-nine days’ notice, both of us being over eighteen and willing, and two witnesses,” Audrey said.

“Well, we have that,” Percy said.

“Who said I wanted you two as my witnesses?” Felicity joked.

“Don’t joke about that!” Audrey exclaimed, “Of course we want them as our witnesses.”

“Whatever you want, Sunshine,” Felicity said. She leaned over and kissed Audrey on the cheek.

“But who would let us host a surprise Humanist wedding?” Oliver asked.

The four of them were silent for a moment. 

A place suddenly popped into Percy’s head. “I think I might have an idea,” he said, “Let me call Ron.”

As Percy dialed Ron’s number, Felicity asked, “Like a place Ron’s worked before?” Percy shushed her as Ron’s phone rang.

“Yeah?” Ron’s voice could be heard on the other end.

“Ron, it’s Percy,” Percy said.

“Yeah, I got that from the caller ID. Why are you calling me? I’m actually studying, believe it or not,” Ron sounded grumpy. Which, in fairness, was understandable given the circumstances. He was about to have finals.

“Is Harry with you?” Percy glanced around the room. Oliver and the girls looked intrigued.

“Harry? Why do you want to talk to Harry?” Ron asked.

“I’m trying to plan an event and I have a question about his uncle’s place,” Percy explained, “Is he with you?”

“His shite uncle-uncle or Sirius?” Ron asked.

Percy sighed, “The one that owns a bloody pub, Ron. I don’t know the other one.”

“God, honest question,” Ron said, “My brain feels like it’s melting, I’ve been studying so hard.”

“Is he there or not?” Percy huffed.

“Yeah, he’s here. HARRY! MY BROTHER WANTS TO TALK TO YOU!”

Percy leaned away from his mobile as his brother practically shouted into his ear. There was a moment of silence then a conversation between Harry and Ron where Ron explained what was happening. Eventually, Harry came on the line.

“Hey, what’s up?” Harry asked.

“Harry, it’s Percy. I have a few questions for you,” he said.

“Shoot,” Harry said.

“Does your uncle still own that gay pub in Clapham?” Percy asked.

“Grimmauld Place? Yeah, he does,” Harry responded.

“Do you happen to know if he does events there? I have some friends getting married and I want to host an engagement party for them,” Percy explained. He figured telling a lie near the truth was as good as anything.

“I think he does? Yeah, hold on, yeah. He once had me help cater something. There’s a room upstairs that I think he uses to host events. I wouldn’t know the price or anything. Today’s Sunday, right?”

“Yes,” Percy said.

“He should be there right now. He usually closes on Sundays. If you want to talk to him, I can give you his number. Or you can probably run over there if you want to talk to him in person. I know it doesn’t close until late,” Harry said.

“I think I’ll pop over there with my friends. I’m sure they’d like to see the place first,” Percy said, “Thank you so much, Harry. Good luck on your exams.”

“Thanks,” Harry said, “I’ll hand you back to Ron.”

“You good?” Ron asked.

“Yes, thank you for your help,” Percy said.

“You have a master’s degree don’tcha?” Ron asked.

“Yes, Ron, I have a master’s degree. You saw me get it,” Percy said.

“How do you study for comprehensive exams?” Ron asked.

“Ron, you could have asked me literally at any time this year! I assume your comps start soon?” Percy chided.

“Please help me! I’m drowning!”

Percy groaned. Oliver seemed amused by Percy’s annoyance. “I think you may benefit from a reward system. Like, study for an hour, take a break for twenty minutes. Cramming isn’t exactly helpful. You should pace yourself, but actually study,” Percy said.

“Ok, that makes sense,” Ron said.

“Ron, as much as I love talking to you, I have to go. I’ll see you next weekend. Good luck on your finals,” Percy said.

“Fine. See you next week,” Ron said.

They said their goodbyes and Percy hung up.

“Potter’s uncle owns a gay bar?” Oliver asked as soon as Percy was done.

“It’s not his _actual_ uncle,” Percy said, “It’s his godfather, Sirius Black. You’ve met him. Kinda punk, long hair, rides a motorcycle. Married to Mr. Lupin. The two of them got guardianship of Harry around the time we graduated because his aunt and uncle were neglecting him. His parents died when he was really young.”

“Oh. Got it-” Oliver started but he was interrupted.

“He’s married to _Mr. Lupin_? Like our special topics teacher for a year, Mr. Lupin? The one who taught us the history of civil disobedience, Mr. Lupin?” Audrey asked.

“Dorky but cool, Mr. Lupin?” Felicity added.

“Yes,” Percy said, “I thought everyone knew this?”

“I knew Lupin was married to Potter’s godfather! It just took me a moment,” Oliver said.

“Well, sorry we all don’t know Harry Potter,” Felicity said, “I just know him as one of Percy’s many brothers’ many friends and as some boy on the school’s rugby team.”

“And Snape hated him,” Audrey added, “Like more than everyone else. I caught Harry crying about it in his first year in one of the empty classrooms.”

“Ron told me that’s because he had a crush on Harry’s mom in school and she turned him down and he didn’t like Harry’s dad,” Percy said.

“Wait, seriously, that was the reason?” Audrey asked, “What a piece of shit.”

“Hold up. He was a dick to his dead crush’s abused son because of he didn’t like his dad?” Felicity asked. “Jesus, the straights are bloody exhausting.”

“Before we get depressed unpacking all of that, let’s get back to the gay bar,” Audrey said, “Give me the details.”

“Well, it is owned by Harry’s guardian. It’s called Grimmauld Place and it’s in Clapham. It’s more of a traditional pub than your average gay bar. Like they serve food and the décor is, well, it’s hard to describe, but once you meet Sirius, you’ll get it. It’s like punk and camp and New Wave all rolled into one. But Harry said they have an upstairs room that they do special events in. Sirius should be there this evening,” Percy explained.

“Wait, is this the place with the fake lion’s head done up like Ziggy Stardust?” Felicity asked.

“That would be it,” Percy said.

“We’ve actually been a few times. It’s nice. A bit kooky. At least there aren’t a bunch of nineteen-year-olds doing cheap shots and acting like idiots there,” Felicity said.

“I didn’t know Mr. Lupin’s husband owned it,” Audrey said.

“What do you think, babe? Do you want to talk to the guy?” Felicity asked her partner. 

Audrey shrugged. “It’s our best option so far. I’ll give it a shot. Let me change into something where I don’t look twelve,” she said, “I’ll be right back.”

Percy had thought of Grimmauld Place to begin with because Sirius Black seemed just barmy enough to agree to this sort of thing. He had only met the man a handful of times, but he felt he had a handle on the type of person Sirius was. The man regularly wore a leather jacket with a bejeweled wolf. Whenever he saw Sirius, Sirius always promised Percy a drink on the house. Percy also hoped that by being Sirius’s godson’s best friend’s brother, there would be at least some friendliness there.

As soon as Audrey changed, the quartet headed out. Percy had to look up directions on his mobile because it had been a while since he’d been to the pub. It had been a while since he’d been to any pub, really. After a tube ride and a walk, they found the place.

For a Sunday afternoon, Grimmauld Place wasn’t exactly packed. Sure, there were definitely plenty of patrons, but the four of them could get a place at the bar if they wanted. Granted, it was well after brunch. The pub’s decoration was definitely eclectic. It was a mix of Victorian, 50s and 60s B-Movies, and 80s New Wave. As strange as it sounded, it worked. There was plenty of mismatched antique furniture, velvet, neon, posters of campy horror classics, and plenty of weird stuff.

Percy led his group up to the bar.

“Hello,” he said to one of the bartenders washing glasses.

The bartender looked up. “Hi! What’s your poison?” she asked.

“Actually,” Percy said, “I was wondering if Sirius Black is around? His godson told me he would be around today and I’m looking at planning an event here.”

“Oh, yeah, I can get him,” the bartender said, “What’s your name?”

“Percy Weasley.”

“Ok. I’ll go grab him. Just wait here.”

“Thank you so much,” Percy said. He watched as the bartender said something to the other bartender and headed toward the back.

Oliver leaned against the bar. “Do you know this is my first time in a gay bar?” he asked the group.

“I have to take a photo of this!” Audrey said while whipping out her iPhone, “You three, crowd together. I’ll take a selfie.”

“You do realize that’s virtually impossible? You’re like a foot shorter than the guys,” Felicity pointed out. 

Audrey stuck her tongue out at her partner. “Fine, I’ll get you three together,” she said. The three former members of Gryffindor House huddled together and Audrey took their photo.

“Well, well, well, who do we have here?” Sirius Black said as he came up to the group. He was a handsome man in his early forties with his long dark hair pulled up into a bun. A loose gray tendril hung in his face. Percy had a feeling Sirius Black’s style hadn’t changed much since he was a teenager. He was sporting jeans, an old Universal Monsters t-shirt, and a leather jacket. His Doc Martens looked well-worn but cared for. Several earrings covered his left ear with a few studs in his right.

“Hi, Mr. Black,” Percy said offering his hand for a shake. 

Sirius shook it good-naturedly. “Sirius is fine! You’re one of Ron’s brothers, right?” 

“Yes, I’m Percy. The gay one,” Percy said. He was either “The Gay One” or “The Smart One” or “The Nerdy One”.

Sirius laughed, “Kinda figured, mate. Who’s with you?”

“Of course,” Percy said, “You might remember Oliver Wood-”

“Holy shit, I thought that was you,” Sirius said while shaking Oliver’s hand, “I remember when you were Harry’s rugby captain. Remus and I just about lost it when you came out.”

“Nice to see you again,” Oliver said.

“And these are my friends Felicity and Audrey. They went to Hogwarts as well,” Percy said. The ladies greeted Sirius.

“And what brings you all to my little establishment? My bartender said you wanted to have some sort of event?” Sirius asked, “Pride party? Coming out party?”

The cohort shook their heads. “Actually, it’s for us,” Felicity said.

“Could we sit down and talk somewhere?” Audrey asked.

“Yeah, this is probably going to take a minute,” Felicity said.

Sirius shrugged and led the four of them to a round, solitary booth. Felicity and Audrey explained what they wanted to do with some points peppered in by Oliver and Percy. As they talked, Sirius just listened. When they were done, he burst into a crazy laugh.

“I love it!” he said, “And I’m allowed to perform Humanist weddings. Done quite a few of them, actually.”

“Great!” Audrey said.

“Let me show you the space we do parties in,” Sirius said while getting up. He led the group to a room on the second floor of the building. There was a much smaller bar, tables, and an open area. The decorations were similar to those downstairs.

“We can basically do whatever you want,” Sirius explained. They all listened as he explained previous events held in the room. Mostly the girls asked questions as Percy and Oliver absorbed the information. At one point, Oliver absentmindedly put his arm around Percy. Percy’s mind went blank momentarily as Sirius, Audrey, and Felicity were discussing a price range. Man, he hadn’t dated in a long time if the smell of Oliver’s soap was causing him to lose focus. And the weight of his arms…

Focus, Percy, focus.

Eventually he snapped back as he heard Sirius say, “Oh, Remus isn’t here today. He helps me with the books, so let me get your contact information, ladies, and we can keep in touch about everything.” Sirius took a small notebook and pencil out of his back pocket.

“You are a life saver,” Audrey said after the information was shared. 

“No problem. I totally get what you ladies are going through. The marriage laws are really weird and I’ve had my own fair share of family drama,” Sirius said, “How about some champagne to celebrate? On the house.”

He headed to the small bar, looked underneath, and came up with a champagne bottle and a handful of glasses. “It’s not the fancy stuff, but it does the trick,” Sirius said with a wink. He popped the cork and poured the liquid into the glasses.

Glasses in hand, the four friends looked at each other. “I feel someone should toast,” Oliver said.

“I will,” Percy said, “Um. I’m so proud of you two and I wish you both all the happiness in the world. Mazel tov.”

“Mazel tov.” They clinked their glasses and drank. Percy felt the bubbles fizz down his throat.

“I honestly thought we’d get some long-winded speech about creating a family and how you’ve known us forever and blah blah blah,” Felicity teased.

“I’m saving that for the wedding,” Percy said.

“Oh! You know what would be fun?” Audrey asked, turning to Felicity.

“What?” Felicity asked.

“If we started the engagement party with like a toast and it turned into ‘To Life’ from _Fiddler on the Roof_ with like a big dance number and then the wedding?” Audrey said with glee. Percy could feel the blood draining from his face. Looking around, Felicity looked a mix of amused and exasperated and Oliver looked shell-shocked. Felicity could sing and perform really well. Percy and Oliver were a lot less comfortable.

After a beat, Audrey laughed, “Oh my god, I was kidding. You should see your faces.”

“I like this one,” Sirius said to no one in particular. 

“But I know secretly, that is your like deepest wish,” Felicity said. 

Audrey shrugged. “Maybe.”

“Well, I know you wouldn’t be able to convince these two lugs without copious amounts of alcohol,” Felicity pointed out, “But you might be able to convince me to do ‘Miracle of Miracles’.”

“We’ll talk about it,” Audrey said.

“Feel free to hang out for a while longer. I’ll let the bartenders know I gave you the champagne, so you won’t be charged for it. I have to get back downstairs. We’re about to have pub trivia in about thirty minutes. It’s not too late to join, if you want,” Sirius said, “Ladies, feel free to contact me with any questions you have. And we’ll find a time to meet? Wood, so good to see you again. Weasley, will I see you at graduation next weekend?”

“Probably,” Percy said.

“I’ll keep in touch with you all. Have fun!” Sirius said and headed back downstairs.

“Do you guys want to hang out a bit more and do trivia?” Felicity asked the party.

“I think we should,” Audrey said, “It’s Ollie’s first time in a gay bar and it sounds like fun.”

“Oh, between the four of us, we could do really well,” Oliver said.

“Let’s just not get _too_ competitive,” Percy said, “We don’t want a repeat of the _Taming of the Shrew_ incident.” He slightly glared at Oliver and Felicity.

“I still maintain that all the characters’ names are too similar,” Felicity sniffed, “And we still got an extra credit point for that test anyway.”

“It was years ago, I’m over it,” Oliver said. 

“Sure, you are,” Felicity said.

“Let’s just have some fun!” Audrey, ever the peacemaker, said to assuage everyone.

They did end up having fun, even if they lost. Given who hosted the quiz, they probably should have expected an entire category about retro horror films which was a blind spot for all of them. Oliver managed to surprise everyone by doing well in the soap opera category. He just shrugged and refused to explain. They came in a respectable fourth place.

After making sure Felicity and Audrey got home safely, Percy and Oliver went to Oliver’s place. 

“Do you think you’re going to tell your family about us next weekend?” Oliver asked Percy as they both tucked into some takeaway. They had been talking about their plans for the upcoming week.

“I probably should,” Percy said, “But I also don’t want to take away from Ron’s big moment.”

“That’s fair, I suppose,” Oliver said. Percy noticed that his brows were furrowed.

“How about if someone asks, I’ll confirm it?” Percy suggested. Oliver’s face didn’t change. Percy got closer to Oliver and took his hand, “I do want to be open about us- I absolutely do- it’s just when you have a family as large as mine, it’s just important not to step on anyone’s big moments. Ron, especially, is sensitive to that sort of thing. Though, it’s likely that someone _will_ ask. And I will be honest if you want me to.”

“I do, yeah,” Oliver said quietly, “But I’m being a berk, aren’t I?”

“No-“

“I’m just so new to this and I don’t know what I’m doing and I don’t want to upset your family-“

“My family is not going to be upset, trust me. I mean, Ron might get miffed if I take some of his attention away, but he’d get over it. Especially at the promise of game tickets. Not that you have to give him any, of course. But my family adores you,” Percy reassured.

“I guess I’m concerned about telling my family,” Oliver finally admitted.

“Ah.”

“I’m not embarrassed by you or anything like that. I _want_ people to know about us. But it’s one thing to tell my parents I’m gay, but it’s another be in a relationship with a man,” Oliver said.

“I’d think your mum would be fine with it,” Percy said, “My mum’s been talking to her and she wants to learn and be supportive.”

“I’m not worried about her,” Oliver said.

“I know,” Percy sighed. He squeezed Oliver’s hand and gave him a kiss on the temple. “And, I know you don’t want to hear it, but I don’t think he cares for me.”

“He’s not my biggest fan at the moment either,” Oliver mumbled.

“Did something happen?” Percy asked, concerned.

“Other than him being critical of my television appearances? No. But that’s normal for him.”

“I’m sorry. I wish you could have a more supportive father. One who isn’t trying to live vicariously through you,” Percy said.

“I do too,” Oliver sighed.

“But if your father can’t see how amazing you are, he quite frankly doesn’t deserve you,” Percy said.

“I know,” Oliver said, “My therapist says the same thing.”

“Your therapist is very smart. You have good taste,” Percy said lightly.

“Like my taste in men?” Oliver asked.

“You could do better there,” Percy teased.

“Nonsense. My boyfriend is pretty cute,” Oliver said and gave Percy a peck on the lips.

“So, I’m your boyfriend now?” Percy asked.

“Shite, are you not?” Oliver asked wide-eyed.

“Sorry, I was teasing,” Percy said, embarrassed, “Yes, I am. Well, if you want me to be. I want to be your boyfriend.”

Oliver breathed a sigh of relief. “Of course I want you to be. I wouldn’t be terrified of telling my dad if I didn’t.” He then sat back in his chair and groaned. “Am I awful if I just want to skip a step and post about us on social media and not tell my parents?”

“I think it’s a normal concern,” Percy said, “But would you rather tell them yourself or have them be caught off guard when some friend talks to them about us and they have no idea?” 

“Shit. You’re right.” Oliver rugged his temple and groaned.

“We still have time. Would you like me to be with you when you tell them?” Percy asked.

“Probably. But let me think of a good time to tell them first?” Oliver asked.

Percy kissed him on the forehead. “Of course.”

Oliver leaned in again and kissed Percy on the lips. It was short- either a kiss of gratitude or relief but Percy relished it. 

“Do you want to help distract me from my parents’ thing by helping me sign up for Pinterest?” Oliver asked, “Audrey wants me to go on there to get design ideas. We’re going to go furniture and décor shopping while you’re with your family.”

“You do realize you aren’t going to survive shopping with her, right?” Percy joked.

“I will if I want to see my handsome boyfriend again. C’mon. I have no bloody idea what I’m doing.”

Percy laughed as he followed Oliver.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was that? 
> 
> Sirius owning a gay bar has been a part of this plan since the beginning, so it was good to finally share it. I debated for a while if James and Lily would be alive in this universe, but considering I had never written them (let alone Sirius and Remus), I decided that they would still be dead. Also, who is Harry Potter when he's grown up in a normal household?
> 
> Also, British marriage laws are dumb I discovered when I researched, so I went with it in the story.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! How's everyone holding up? I had a recent scare where my dad had to go to the hospital and he's very much in the risk categories (turns out he had pneumonia and he's back home now, thank god).
> 
> I hope you like Weasley family chaos because that's most of this chapter!
> 
> As always, this has not been beta'd or Brit-picked and I don't own Harry Potter.

Instead of driving to Derby for Ron’s graduation, Percy and Charlie opted to take a train. It’s not that they couldn’t drive or didn’t have a car- they both had licenses and shared an eleven-year-old Ford Fiesta that was primarily used for grocery shopping. The issue was that neither of them really wanted to deal with the M25. It would barely be a blip of their route, but they both hated it. Their parents were driving, however. They had offered to pick Percy and Charlie up despite London being very out of their way, but the boys said no. From experience, they knew family road trips weren’t always fun. George claimed he’d be heavily medicated for the road trip.

Throughout Friday afternoon, Percy received texts from Fred documenting the road trip. Mainly it was whatever weird stuff George muttered in his sleep. Oliver also sent him a few texts. It was another big press week for Oliver, so Percy hadn’t seen him all week. They had been texting regularly at least. At least half of it was Oliver excitedly texting him things he found on Pinterest. Truly, he had created a monster.

As soon as Percy was done with work that Friday, he headed home. Given that Charlie worked at London Zoo, it didn’t make much sense for him to go home after his shift. Percy, however, worked close enough to the flat, so he was tasked with feeding the cat and grabbing their overnight bags.

Charlie was waiting for him at the station with dinner. “It’s just from McDonald’s. I hope you don’t mind,” he said as they traded bags.

“Fine,” Percy said.

As soon as they boarded the train, Percy received a text from Oliver. He checked it as soon as he sat down.

**Oliver:** _Let me know when you get there safely! I’ll be filming a talk show soon but I’ll text you back as soon as I can_

**Percy:** _Okay. Good luck!_

“Texting your boyfriend?” Charlie asked.

“Shut up,” Percy muttered.

“You didn’t deny he’s your boyfriend,” Charlie noted.

“That’s because he is,” Percy said simply.

“You know you’re going to have to tell everyone eventually,” Charlie said.

“I will,” Percy said defensively, “I’m not going to volunteer the information this weekend- I don’t want to upstage Ron.”

“It’s not really that big a deal. No one really cared when George admitted he was dating Angelina or when Fred said he was dating Lee.”

“But everyone is making such a big deal about me seeing him again and suggesting we should date.”

“Yeah, but they’ll get over it really quick. There is always something happening in this family.”

Percy thought for a moment. Charlie did have a point. “How about if someone asks directly, I might confirm it?”

“Works for me. But I’ll hold you to it.”

“Fine.”

The rest train ride itself was fine. Outside the windows, the view switched from the English countryside to towns and back again as the sun began to set. Mostly, Percy read on his Kindle while Charlie napped. With summer starting properly, there were plenty of kids at the zoo and Percy knew they sometimes exhausted Charlie. Occasionally, Percy received a text from Felicity, Audrey, or Fred and he’d reply. As soon as they arrived in Derby, Percy texted both his parents and his boyfriend.

Within minutes, Arthur Weasley arrived at the station to pick them up. Percy spotted the VW bus immediately. Charlie and Percy shared a groan at seeing the old green monstrosity.

“Ugh, Dad, the bus, really?” Charlie asked as he opened the passenger side door.

Fred was in the passenger side and yelled in a fake American mobster voice, “Get in the back!”

Charlie rolled his eyes and got in the back with Percy, grumbling something about being older.

“As much as I don’t like the bus either,” Percy said unenthusiastically, “we have to travel all together somehow. I guess.” None of the other family vehicles would have carried six of them comfortably, let alone seven or eight.

“That’s the idea. Especially since you two decided not to drive here,” Arthur said, “Now how was the trip?”

“It was fine,” Percy said, “Charlie slept through most of it.”

As he drove from the station to the hotel, Arthur asked his sons more questions about the goings on in London and their individual work. Percy gave an update on the tapestry cleaning project. Charlie talked about a new bird having difficulties settling into the zoo. Shortly, they arrived at the hotel. Once inside, Arthur and Fred led Percy and Charlie up to their rooms.

“This is me and your mum’s room. You’re next door with the twins,” Arthur said as they reached the end of the hall on the third floor.

“I’ve got a key!” Fred said brandishing the keycard.

“Percy or Charlie can have the other one. I’ll let you decide between you,” Arthur said offering the other card.

“I’ll take that,” Charlie said. Percy rolled his eyes.

“Don’t stay up all night. We’re leaving at nine-thirty,” Arthur warned.

“Like you have to worry about that,” Charlie joked.

“I’m not concerned about you and Percy. It’s the twins I’m worried about,” Arthur explained, “Just don’t make your mum panic. And look presentable.”

“Hey! I always look good!” Fred said defensively. 

“I will make sure everyone is in at least business casual,” Percy said, ignoring his brother.

“Thanks, Percy. Well, good night boys. I’ll see you in the morning,” Mr. Weasley said. 

The three of them gave acknowledgments and wished their dad a good night. Fred unlocked the door. 

The room was a standard hotel room: two queen beds, a television on a long dresser, a closet, a bathroom, a desk. George was already on one of the beds with his bad leg resting on a pillow. He perked up when he saw his brothers.

“Look! I’ve gone from cast to boot. We’re moving up, boys!” George said.

“Congrats!” Charlie said, “Now, who’s sleeping where?” 

“Me and Georgie on that one. You and Perce there,” Fred said.

“Ugh. Charlie talks in his sleep in new places,” Percy said as he took his suit out of his bag and hung it in the closet. Normally, Charlie was fine other than some light snoring. But for some reason, any time he slept in a new, unfamiliar place, he would do things like sit up and talk in his sleep. Percy had experienced it firsthand a few times and it was weird.

“We’ll all hear it,” Fred said, “Well, except Georgie probably.”

“Was that a deaf joke?” Charlie asked.

“A lazy one,” George said.

Charlie flopped on the bed and stretched out. “You can always sleep on the floor, Perce. I don’t mind,” he said.

“I’m not sleeping on the bloody floor. Just don’t hog all the blankets and- for God’s sake Charlie- take off your boots. You’ll get mud on the covers,” Percy said as he unpacked the rest of his weekend bag.

“Oops,” Charlie said before toeing off his boots.

“Are you seriously unpacking your bag?” Fred asked his older brother.

Percy peeked his head out of the loo. “Unlike the rest of you, I’m a civilized person.”

“I think working at a castle has gone too much to your head,” Fred joked. Percy huffed in response.

After placing his toiletries bag on the counter, Percy headed back into the bedroom. “You know,” he said, “it’s all fun and games until Mum yells at you tomorrow for having a wrinkled dress shirt because you threw it into your bag and you beg me to show you how to use an iron. And I won’t.”

Fred waved him off, “Yes you will.”

“No, I won’t,” Percy said, crossing his arms and holding his ground.

“Yes, you will.”

“Oh my God, can we not start this?” Charlie groaned, “Also, Fred, you are an adult. You are bloody well capable of ironing your own clothing.”

“Thank you,” Percy said.

“What about me?” George asked.

“You get a pass with your foot still in a boot,” Percy said.

“Yes!” George cried.

Eventually, the four brothers quieted down. Fred brought out his laptop and headphones and went to work editing a video. Charlie turned on the telly. He, George, and Percy took a few minutes trying to figure out how to turn on the closed captioning. Eventually George was the one to turn it on, quipping that despite the multiple degrees among his older brothers, it was the YouTube star that figured out how to work a telly.

As a panel show played in the background, Percy received a text from Oliver.

**Oliver:** _Hey! Finally back home after filming. You in the hotel now?_

**Percy:** _Yeah. Stuck in a room with Charlie and the twins._

**Percy:** _What type of thing were you filming?_

**Oliver:** _Some little thing for a BBC chat show. At least, I think it was BBC? I swear the past week is a haze. This entire thing is mad. I hope all this attention dies down soon. I’m not used to this spotlight._

**Percy:** _I think the whole thing will probably die down after Pride and until the rugby season starts again._

**Oliver:** _Is it bad that we haven’t seen each other in a week and I miss you so much?_

**Percy:** _I’ve missed you all week too._

**Oliver:** _When you get back, we should have dinner at my place._

**Percy:** _It’s a date._

They chatted for a bit longer until Fred demanded Percy’s attention. 

“Who are you texting?” Fred asked, “You haven’t been listening to my hilarious commentary for the past five minutes.”

“Oh, just Oliver,” Percy said, “He was telling me about an interview he did this evening and how he’s going to go furniture and homeware shopping with Audrey tomorrow. His house is currently a little dull.”

“Furniture shopping? That sounds super exciting,” Fred said sarcastically.

“Sorry we all can’t live your exciting life of cracking jokes for the youth of today,” Percy huffed, “Now what’s going in this show?”

* * *

Contrary to popular belief, Percy Weasley wasn’t exactly a morning person. Evenings were more his style. However, growing up on farm and then living with Oliver Wood for several years had at least made him accept that mornings existed. Charlie was made of a similar cloth to Oliver, so it wasn’t surprising when his alarm went off at 6 AM. Percy blinked his bleary eyes as Charlie hopped out of bed. Fred swore and rolled over. George kept sleeping.

Percy decided to lie in bed as Charlie hopped in the shower. He knew there was no use in going back to sleep; the closer they got to their leave time, the busier the room would be. As he waited, Percy checked his mobile. There were no new texts from overnight and most of his emails were from shops advertising sales. He wasted time by playing a mindless game. Eventually, Charlie came out. 

“Shower’s yours,” Charlie said offhandedly.

Percy took a shower, brushed his teeth, and shaved. He also styled his hair with mouse and moisturized his face. Before they left, he would put on sunscreen. Being a redhead, Percy knew that he had to take care of his skin or else he would burn horrifically. After he left the loo, he could tell Charlie must have left to grab breakfast. The lights were still off and he was nowhere to be found. Percy debated being an arsehole for a moment and turning on the lights to wake the twins. Figuring they would find some sort of retribution, he decided against it. Instead, he used the light on his iPhone to find his pants, trousers, undershirt, loafers, and glasses and got dressed in the loo. It was enough to be proper in the hotel. He would put on the rest of his clothes after breakfast. 

Sure enough, Percy found Charlie in the hotel’s dining room with his parents. He gave them a curt nod before pouring himself a coffee and grabbing some food.

“Good morning, Percy,” his mum said as he sat at the table, “The twins up yet?”

Percy scoffed. “We’ll be lucky if they’re up at nine,” he said.

“You boys didn’t stay up all night, did you?” Molly asked.

“No,” Charlie said, “We went to sleep right after Graham Norton. I’ll rouse them when I’m done eating. Lord knows the threat of cold breakfast will wake them right up.”

“We thought about having a lie-in ourselves, but there are just too many things to do,” Mr. Weasley said.

“Ginny said she’s coming by soon and finish getting ready with us,” Mrs. Weasley said.

“But she lives with Ron, Potter, and Granger?” Charlie pointed out.

“I’m sure the three of them want some privacy this morning and they likely have to leave early. Besides, that way we don’t have to search for her when we get to campus,” his mum said.

“It’s not like we’re hard to miss,” Percy said dryly. 

“Well, we only have you and Dad to be our beacons without Bill and Ron. Two tall gingers are much harder to spot than four,” Charlie said.

“You know, as much as I make fun of you for being short, you are aware you are taller than the UK average, right?” Percy asked.

“Barely, yes, but you’re like freakishly tall,” Charlie said, “If you were an American and much, much more athletic, you’d probably play basketball.”

“I’m not _freakishly_ tall. Yes, I am tall, I will give you that, but I have met taller blokes than me. And _they_ are freakishly tall,” Percy argued.

“You’re on the cusp of it, mate. Six foot four is rather tall.”

“It’s not that tall.”

Molly’s sigh broke their debate. “Please, can we not?”

“Sorry Mum,” Percy and Charlie muttered.

“Good morning, Weasleys!” a chipper male voice said nearby. Percy looked up and recognized the voice belonging to Hermione Granger’s father. His wife was standing next to him. Unlike the Weasleys, they were already fully dressed and made up for the day. 

“Good morning, Hugo, Jean,” Arthur Weasley said, “How are you this morning?”

“Please, take a seat,” Molly said to the other couple.

“Well, Hugo is already on his second cup of coffee, if that tells you anything,” Jean said as she sat down.

“In my defense, we’d already be prepping the office for patients at this time on a normal Saturday,” Hugo said. Percy remembered they were both dentists.

“You’ve been a nervous wreck for almost a week that Hermione’s grown up,” Jean Granger pointed out.

“We’ve all been there, I’m afraid,” Arthur said.

“Graduations can be very stressful and emotional,” Molly agreed.

“I don’t know how you do it, Molly, with all those kids. I can barely stand Hermione growing up,” Mrs. Granger said.

“And you two are some of Ron’s brothers?” Mr. Granger asked Charlie and Percy, finally noticing them, “I don’t think I’ve met you two.”

“We’ve met Percy, remember? He was head boy at Hogwarts during one of Hermione’s years,” Jean Granger pointed out to her husband. She turned to Percy and explained, “I never forget a face or a name.”

A look of recognition passed Mr. Granger’s face. “That’s right! Nice to see you again.” He offered a hand to shake. Percy took it. Mr. Granger then turned to Charlie.

“Charlie Weasley, nice to meet you,” Charlie said offering his hand to the man.

“Which one are you?” Mr. Granger asked, “I think you’re one of the few I don’t know.”

“I’m the second eldest, between Bill and Percy,” he said.

“Did you go to Hogwarts too?” Mrs. Granger asked.

“Yes, a few years above Percy,” Charlie said, “I was on the rugby team. And lived in Gryffindor. But now I’m a zookeeper at the London Zoo.”

“Very nice,” Mr. Granger said.

“Oh, the rugby team!” Mrs. Granger said, “Did you know Oliver Wood? I’ve been seeing him on the news a lot recently. It’s all very exciting, isn’t it? Hermione said she doesn’t know him particularly well, but that Harry knew him a little better.”

“I was his captain for a few years, but he was Percy’s roommate, so he knows Oliver a lot better than I do,” Charlie said. Percy didn’t miss the sly tone in Charlie’s voice, but figured everyone else would miss it.

“Oh really?” Mr. Granger asked, “I’m a bit more of a footie man myself, but from what I understand, he’s a very good player. Are you still in touch with him, Percy?”

“Oh, yeah, they are definitely still in touch,” Charlie said. It took Percy every ounce of control to not kick his brother under the table. Instead, he chose to act like nothing was the matter.

“Yes, he and I talk all the time,” Percy said smoothly, “We fell out of touch when he first started rugby and I went to uni, but a mutual friend helped us get back in contact recently.”

“Oh, that’s nice,” Mrs. Granger said.

“He brought Oliver back to our farm a few weeks ago to film some videos for the twins,” Arthur said.

“Yes, he did,” Molly said. She leaned in closer to the Grangers, “And Oliver’s grown to be very handsome. I think he and Percy would make a very striking couple. And I’ve always liked him.”

“Mum!” Percy gasped, scandalized and embarrassed.

“I’m just saying!” Molly said, “When the two of you were together at home, you looked the happiest I’ve seen you in years. I want you to be happy.”

“I understand, but this isn’t exactly a conversation I want to have this early in the morning,” Percy whined. Or in front of relative strangers, but he didn’t say that.

“All right,” Molly said and patted Percy’s hand. She turned to the Grangers, “How is the office?”

Percy pretty much tuned out as Mr. and Mrs. Granger chatted with his parents. He quietly ate his breakfast instead. Charlie seemed to be doing the same thing, opting to shovel beans and toast into his mouth. The Grangers seemed to be nice people, albeit very, very normal. So normal, it was hard to believe they were parents of Hermione Granger, activist extraordinaire. At school, she fought for gender-neutral loos and helped the cafeteria workers strike for better benefits. Hermione was stubborn about it too. At thirteen, she went on a months-long crusade to introduce composting to the school. Percy couldn’t picture her parents doing that. They seemed so ordinary.

Percy felt his mobile buzz in his pocket. He quietly got it out.

**Charlie:** _You could have just told her, you know._

Percy looked up at his brother. Charlie looked at him with raised eyebrows. While Percy could see his brother’s point, now wasn’t really the moment. He told Charlie so via text.

**Charlie:** _You do you, I guess._

“I’m going to wait for Ginny in the lobby,” Percy told the table.

“All right,” Arthur said. He was waved off quickly. Charlie said he’d be heading back to the room soon.

Percy sighed in relief when he reached the lobby. He loved his family- he truly did- but sometimes he needed a moment to himself. Honestly, Percy had no idea how he was going to tell his family about Oliver. He didn’t know why exactly he was dreading it. Maybe it was the inevitable “I told you so”s and the innuendos. Wood just led so easily to a double entendre. It was probably better to get the plaster off quickly because the sooner his siblings could get their jokes out, the sooner they could move to obsessing over the next bit of Weasley drama. Charlie was right, the few benefits of having a large family that there was always something happening. Nothing stuck for very long. But, God, did Percy hate revealing his personal life to everyone. Maybe it was years stuck in the closet that scrambled his brain.

It wasn’t too long until Ginny showed up. Percy was playing a crossword on his mobile when a shadow appeared over him and a voice uttered, “Hey, stranger.”

Percy looked up to find his little sister. Sunglasses were perched on her ginger hair. She looked sun-kissed and glowing. As far as Percy could tell, she wasn’t wearing any makeup though she typically did pretty minimal makeup anyway. She was wearing a green and white floral jumpsuit with sandals. It was quintessential Ginny. 

Percy stood up and gave his sister a hug. “How are you?” he asked.

“Oh, fine. Finals didn’t completely kick my arse. Still sucks that I have to deal with so many lads in my classes, but I can still kick their arses,” she said.

“Academically or physically?” Percy asked.

“Both,” Ginny said with a smirk. She looked him over. “You aren’t wearing that today, are you? Seems a bit casual for you.”

Percy looked down at himself even though he knew what he was wearing. “Oh, God, no. I just dressed enough to get breakfast,” Percy said, “Have you eaten?”

“Yeah, Ron made like a full spread. I thought he was going to sleep to the last possible minute, but he said he could barely sleep,” Ginny said with a shrug.

“Huh. Well, let’s get you upstairs,” Percy said.

They made small talk as the headed toward the hotel room. Percy texted Charlie that he and Ginny were heading up. When Percy knocked on the door, instead of Charlie wordlessly opening the door, Fred stuck his head out and asked, “What’s the password?”

Percy rolled his eyes. “Mum’s gonna kill us if you make us late if you don’t stop fooling around,” he sighed.

“Errrrrrrrp, wrong answer,” Fred said.

“Sheep farts,” Ginny said.

“Ding! Ding! Ding! That is correct!” Fred said and gladly let them inside. It became apparent once they were in that Fred was only in a pair of boxer briefs.

Inside was a bit chaotic. Fred or George had clearly dumped the contents of one of their bags onto a bed. Fred snuck past his siblings and started rifling through the contents.

“You forgot something, didn’t you?” Percy asked, knowingly.

“I can’t find my deodorant!” Fred said.

“Can you please put trousers on? Your pale legs are blinding me.” Charlie asked from his perch at the desk. He had fully changed from his sweatpants from earlier and seemed ready to go.

“Can’t you just borrow some from George? Or literally anyone?” Ginny asked.

“For the love of God, you can borrow mine. Just please clean up and get dressed,” Charlie groaned. 

“Found it!” Fred yelled triumphantly as he brandished a stick of deodorant. 

“Why did you put in your shoe?” Ginny asked.

Fred just shrugged.

“Didn’t you miss this, Gin?” Charlie asked.

“I mean, I live with Ron, so not that much different,” Ginny said as she sat on Percy and Charlie’s bed. 

Percy grabbed his button-down shirt, braces, and bowtie from the closet and finished dressing as Fred hopped around the room finding his own things. As Percy sat fully dressed, other than his suit jacket, next to Ginny, George hobbled out of the loo. He was already dressed into dress trousers and a button-down shirt. Within minutes, Fred finished getting dressed. Percy noted that his shirt was a bit wrinkled but opted not to say anything.

“I’m starving,” Fred said to his twin. 

“Same,” George said.

“There’s breakfast downstairs,” Charlie told them. 

Fred and George were shouting about food as they left the room.

“Finally, peace and quiet,” Charlie sighed.

“Perce, can you plait my hair?” Ginny asked, “I’ve never gotten as good as you.”

“Sure, yeah,” Percy said.

When they were kids, Percy picked up doing Ginny’s hair for primary school while their mum dealt with the twins in the morning. He occasionally did it at Hogwarts too, especially when Ginny was upset or for special events.

Charlie got up from the desk and switched spots with Percy. The low hum of the sports channel could be heard in a moment.

Ginny got a brush and ponytail holders out of her mini backpack and handed them to her brother. She sat in the chair as Percy put his mobile on the desk. He wanted to be able to see the time.

“How do we want to do this?” Percy asked as he ran the brush through Ginny’s hair.

“How about French on both sides leading to a single plait down the back?” Ginny suggested.

“All right,” Percy said. He brushed until he was satisfied that Ginny’s hair was smooth.

“I’m digging the blue suit,” Ginny said as Percy separated her hair into sections, “And the floral shirt. It’s very bold.”

“I figure that with how red my hair is, the color dis-“

Percy was interrupted by his mobile ringing. Audrey’s face was on the screen. Before he could say anything, Ginny grabbed it, answered, and put it on speaker.

“Percy Weasley’s mobile. Ginny Weasley speaking. How may I help you?” Ginny said in her best imitation of a secretary.

“You’re on speaker, Aud,” Percy said.

“Hello sweetie,” Audrey said in a sing-song voice, “Guess who’s car I’m in?”

“Hi Percy! Hi Ginny!” Oliver voice could be heard saying.

“You ruined the surprise!” Audrey groaned.

“Audrey, I know you two are going shopping today,” Percy said, “Hello, Oliver.”

“Hi Wood!” Ginny added, “Hi Audrey.”

“Hi kids!” Charlie yelled from his spot on the bed.

“Charlie’s here too, but further away,” Percy explained. “Felicity working?”

“Yep, we’re listening to her station now. How’s graduation prep?” Audrey asked.

“Well, the twins are finally eating breakfast, so at least the room’s quiet for the moment. I’m currently plaiting Gin’s hair,” Percy said, “Have you started shopping yet?”  
  


“Ollie just picked me up,” Audrey explained.

“You going to a flea market?” Percy asked.

“Absolutely!” Audrey said. Audrey loved flea markets, antique stores, and vintage shops. It helped that she was small enough to fit into vintage fashions, Percy figured. Felicity enjoyed them too, but her preference was finding vinyl albums.

“What are you trying to find?” Ginny asked.

“We’re decorating my house,” Oliver explained, “According to everyone, it’s very plain.”

“You’ve said it yourself, Ollie,” Percy said.

“True,” Oliver admitted.

“That sounds like fun,” Ginny said, “Better than sitting through _another_ graduation ceremony. This is my eighth. _Eighth._ ”

“I personally like them. There’s just so much energy and happiness,” Audrey said, “I mean, it’s not digging through junk and suddenly finding a proper gem, but it’s still nice.”

“Percy, do you have any words of advice?” Oliver asked, steering the conversation back to the shopping.

“Pace yourself. Knowing Audrey, you will be out all day. Also, just enjoy Audrey in her element. She has the eyes of an eagle in those places. But keep her in line. She will stop at fashion stalls and you will probably end up six pairs of vintage shoes,” Percy said.

“In my defense, you did end up with those boss pair of oxfords in your size and they were an excellent price,” Audrey said.

“But you bought, like, four dresses for yourself at the same stall,” Percy pointed out.

“They were skirts,” Audrey said.

“I’ll try to keep us on track,” Oliver said, “I’m much more stubborn, remember?”

“Are you though?” Ginny teased.

“Yes,” the three older people said. Ginny laughed.

“It helps that we have a project,” Audrey said, “And I have a plan.”

“We’ll keep you updated, Perce,” Oliver said.

“Yeah. We should let you get back to your family and keep Oliver from driving distractedly,” Audrey said.

“All right,” Percy said, “Bye guys. Have fun!”

The other two yelled their good-byes and Audrey hung up.

Ginny twisted around in her seat to look at Percy. “So you and Wood are getting pretty close again,” she said teasingly.

“Turn back around, I’m not done,” Percy commanded, “You want your hair to look good, don’t you?”

Ginny did as he asked. “You still didn’t answer the question,” she said.

“We’ve been hanging out, yeah,” Percy said as he gathered the two side plaits to plait in the middle.

“In a ‘he’s my best mate’ sort of way or in like a sexy way?” Ginny asked.

“Ginny!” Percy chastised. His firm grip was the only thing keeping Ginny’s plait from unraveling.

“It’s an honest question!” Ginny said defensively.

“A very personal one,” Percy said, “Besides, I’ve told you that I don’t like talking about anything in the vicinity of sex with you.”

“And I’ve told you that I’m an adult!” Ginny said, “Besides, who else can I talk about fit boys with?”

“Your friends?” 

“Just tell her!” Charlie yelled.

Percy tied off the plait and stewed for a moment.

“We’ve gone on a few dates, yeah,” Percy said quietly.

Ginny whipped her head around and stood. “Oh my God!” She practically tackled Percy in excitement.

“You have to keep it quiet, Gin!” Percy said, “Promise me!”

“Why? This is the best news ever!”

“Because it’s Ron’s day and I don’t want to distract from that. You know how he gets,” Percy said.

“Fine. It’s your news,” Ginny said, “I’m still super excited for you though. And I can’t wait to lord this over my classmates next year. A professional rugby player for an in-law. The lads will be so jealous.”

“We aren’t married,” Percy said, embarrassed.

“Oh, but you will be! Just give it a few years.” Ginny said with confidence. Charlie laughed. Percy groaned.

* * *

Was there anything more boring than a university graduation? Percy considered it had to be a circle of hell. One would assume that being a sentimental type, Percy would enjoy them. This was not the case. Considering that Percy had already sat through seven at this point, they all blurred together. Almost all of them were the same: vague speeches about becoming adults and waiting through an endless of list of names to finally cheer for your family member. Having the last name of Weasley meant they waited forever too. At least Fred and George’s graduation from circus school was fun. Maybe every graduation should have people jumping through flaming hoops.

With their years of experience, the Weasleys had their own distractions. Molly, Percy, and Charlie both brought crafts, knitting, tatting, and whittling respectively. Years ago, the twins had created a graduation BINGO and they played it each graduation with their youngest siblings. This time, Arthur and Sirius joined them. Molly tolerated it as long as they didn’t yell “BINGO!” and didn’t attract attention. The Grangers and Lupin actually watched the ceremony without distractions.

Occasionally, Percy received texts from Oliver or Audrey. Mainly, they were photos of furniture they were considering and getting his input. A few texts were weird things they found. There was a breakdown of every single piece of art in a stall that was just Old Hollywood gay icons. Another favorite topic was weird pieces of furniture. One photo was Oliver dramatically reclining on a fainting couch. It was unfair that Oliver could look so attractive doing something so dumb. Percy considered making it Oliver’s contact photo.

When the ceremony was finally done, Molly herded the large group to the tree they had pre-determined as their meeting spot. 

“Thank God we only have one of these left,” Fred groaned as they waited for the three graduates.

“Don’t speak too soon. I can see Percy getting his doctorate,” Ginny said.

“Please don’t give him any ideas,” Charlie said, “Remember Bill during his thesis? Multiply that by twenty and that’s Percy.”

“Calm down,” Percy said, “I’d only do it if I was considering moving up to curation and that’s not my plan for the moment.”

“There they are!” Arthur pointed out in the distance. “Kids! Over here!”

Ron gave a wave in acknowledgement and the trio walked toward their families.

Charlie leaned into Percy and whispered, “Are Ronnie and Granger holding hands?”

Percy looked over. It became clearer as they got closer. Ron and Hermione were indeed holding hands with their fingers intertwined. “Yeah, looks like it,” Percy whispered back. The twins seemed to pick up on this too. Ginny just looked smug. 

Before anyone could ask Ron or Hermione anything, Molly, Mrs. Granger, and Sirius started bossing everyone around for photos. There were so many group combinations, Percy’s jaw was starting to hurt from smiling. 

As Ron, Harry, and Hermione finished posing for photos of just the three of them, the Weasleys watched as Ron kissed Hermione. Fred, George, and Ginny cheered obnoxiously.

“Oi, piss off,” Ron said embarrassedly. 

“So, when did this happen?” Percy asked while their parents and guardians discussed the late lunch plan. 

“Couple months ago,” Ron said, shrugging.

“A couple months?!” Fred asked, “What the fuck?”

“I told you, you should have told them sooner,” Ginny said to Ron. Percy felt Charlie nudge him.

“I was gonna, but George got into an accident!” Ron said defensively.

“That was months ago!” George said.

“Guys, enough!” Hermione said, “We’re all adults. This is childish.”

“Hermione’s right,” Ginny said, “And if anyone else would like to own up to anything…”

“Hey kids,” Remus Lupin said interrupting, “We got a reservation for lunch at a place in town. Let’s head to the cars. Harry, Ron, Hermione, everyone parked near each other. Did you drive?”

“No, we walked,” Harry said.

“Let’s get moving then,” Lupin said, “We want to get there before they let our reservation go.”

Percy thought the subject was dropped until they got to the restaurant. Given their group size, the parents sat at one table while the young adults sat together. As soon as they were done ordering, Fred said, “Ronniekins finally hooked up with Granger. That just leaves Ginny and Potter.” 

Ginny on-again-off-again romance with Harry Potter was a big topic amongst the Weasley siblings. She clearly had a crush on him as a girl. As she got older, she dated other boys and Harry dated other girls. It seemed like they might date in secondary, but Ron made enough of a stink about it that they decided to stay friends. Now in their twenties, it seemed more plausible.

Ginny decided to throw attention elsewhere, “Or Percy and Wood.” Percy glared at his sister across the table. She innocently took a sip of water.

“Oh, God,” Fred laughed, “I’ve uploaded the three vids you did, Perce. The fan girls are losing their minds. They say the two of you are so _cuuuuute_. And how you’re actually so sweet.”

“Tell him their ship name,” George prompted.

“It’s Perciver!” Fred exclaimed, “Though I’m kinda diggin’ GingerWood. That’s a less popular one.”

“Heh heh, GingerWood,” Ron laughed under his breath. 

“I’ve watched them,” Hermione said, glossing over Ron’s immaturity, “You two touch a lot. If you haven’t started dating, I’d be shocked. He clearly likes you.”

“Oh my God, stop,” Percy said, groaning into his hands. His face was flushing. This was so embarrassing. 

“He has been on his mobile a lot today. Who ya texting, Perce?” Charlie knowingly teased.

“Shut up, Charles.”

“Ooh. Who are you texting? Is it a boy?” Sirius joined in. That gained the attention of Percy’s parents and everyone else at their table.

“Percy has been texting Oliver Wood all day,” Charlie told the parents.

“I thought this was Ron’s big day. Why does anyone care who I’m texting?” Percy sighed.

“I want to know,” Ron said, no doubt wanting to reflect the teasing elsewhere.

“We only see each other so much anymore,” Ginny added.

“Also, the fact that you’re avoiding he question is pretty suspicious,” Harry said.

“Oh my God. Oliver’s redecorating his home and he’s asking my opinions on things!”

“Is it bedroom things?” Fred asked, waggling his eyebrows.

“No, he’s starting with the living room. Mum, why are you letting them talk to me like this?”

“I admit I’m a little curious myself,” Molly said.

Percy looked up like the florescent lighting would give him the secrets of the universe. Deciding that this wouldn’t get better until the truth came out, he took a deep breath before he spoke. 

“Ok, fine, Oliver and I just started dating,” After the gasps of delight and cheers subsided, Percy added, “But he seriously is out buying house stuff today.”

“Ooh, domestic,” George teased.

“I’m very happy for you, son,” Arthur said. Molly nodded beside him. “Oliver’s a good kid.”

Percy was asked a few more questions, which he begrudgingly answered. After a somewhat raunchy question had been shot down, Percy had never been more relieved to see a waitress coming over with food as he was in that moment. While he was happy that his family was happy with his relationship, he didn’t exactly love getting attention just because of who he was dating. He preferred the details of his relationships remained private. Some things he just liked to keep to himself.

“Oliver sending you any good thirst traps?” Fred asked now that the older adults’ attention was off of their table.

“I’m not, like, sexting him with you lot around. I’m not mental. Who would do that?” Percy snorted.

“Fred and Lee would,” George sang.

“Shut it, Georgie,” Fred muttered.

“Are you serious?” Ginny asked.

“I have been scarred, Freddie, scarred!” George wailed dramatically.

“What did you see?” Ron asked.

As George tried to tell his story while Fred attempted to stop him, Charlie leaned over and said to Percy, “See, always something happening.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for everyone missing graduations during this pandemic. I know, it sucks. 
> 
> In my head, this was going to be a sappier chapter and had more focus on the Golden Trio than it ended up being, but I'm fine with how it turned out. Weasley family chaos is just so much more fun to write. 
> 
> As always, kudos and comments are greatly appreciated! Thank you for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> I hope the formatting for the texts and Twitter stuff makes sense. This is my first time doing this. I apologize so much if I get the British stuff wrong. I've tried to do research, but I might slip up.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! Kudos and comments are appreciated.


End file.
